Roosevelt,  Historian 


Shattering  American  Ideals 


If  you  would  know  Theodore  Roosevelt,  now  President 
of  the  United  States,  for  what  he  really  is,  read  what  he  has 
written  about  the  great  men  of  this  nation  since  the  birth 
of  the  Republic. 

^  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  written  his  own  character  into  his 
works.  His  writings  are  not  such  as  a  professional  author, 
struggling  for  a  livelihood,  might  produce  to  meet  a  de¬ 
mand  of  the  market.  ]  He  has  criticised  and  denounced  the 
fathers  of  the  Republic  in  a  way  to  disclose  his  lack  of  re¬ 
spect  for  their  work.  He  would  tear  down  this  work,  sub¬ 
stituting  strenuosity  for  wisdom,  militarism  for  industrial 
progress,  and  put  the  caprice  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  in 
the  place  of  a  government  by  the  people.  Few  who  have 
woven  their  wisdom  into  the  fabric  of  our  institutions  or 
who  have  taught  lessons  of  valor  and  patriotism  escape  his 
attack.  His  writings  but  thinly  veil  what  appears  to  be 
a  sinister  purpose  to  disparage  American  policies  of  the 
past.  He  has  been  impelled  to  authorship  by  the  sentiments 
to  which  he  gives  expression  and  a  review  of  what  he  has 
written  in  the  character  of  historian  discloses  an  inspira¬ 
tion  of  protest  from  his  soul  against  the  fame  which  the 
great  Americans  before  him  have  won  in  peace  and  in  war. 
He  seems  to  have  sought  less  to  win  literary  fame  than  to 
to  tear  down  the  reputations  of  men  whom  the  world  has 
loved  to  honor,  and  to  set  up  a- standard  of  greatness  en- 


2 


Roosevelt ,  Historian 


tirely  his  own.  If  his  measures  of  men  be  accurate,  all  the 
recorders  of  history  have  been  in  error,  and  this  nation 
must  revise  its  judgment  of  those  whose  names  have  been 
written  on  the  tablet  of  fame,  and  the  people  may  no  longer 
take  pride  in  the  nobility  and  patriotism  of  the  men  who 
conceived  this  government,  defending  republican  institutions, 
or  who,  from  generation  to  generation,  have  contributed 
brilliant  pages  to  our  history.  Whether  his  condemnation 
of  the  great  figures  of  American  history  is  due  to  a  sense 
on  his  part  of  their  difference  from  the  standard  of  meas¬ 
urement  which  he  takes  from  his  own  shadow/  as  it  varies 
in  magnitude  with  the  varying  angles  of  the  hour,  or 
whether  it  is  our  institutions  themselves  which  excite  his 
resentment  may  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  readers  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  works.  That  he  holds  the  creations  of 
American  statesmen  in  contempt  is  indicated  by  the  eager¬ 
ness  with  which  he  seeks  to  tear  down  the  more  substantial 
structure  that  it  may  be  replaced  by  tawdry  Rooseveltiau 
renaissance  from  the  mediaeval  war  lords.  Whether  he  be 
envious  of  all  greatness,  antagonistic  to  the  institutions 
whose  milestones  he  would  deface  or  merely  recklessly  ex¬ 
travagant  in  his  judgment  as  in  his  expressions  his  writings 
should  be  read  by  those  who  would  form  a  just  estimate 
of  the  man  whom  they  are  asked  to  again  entrust  with  the 
power  of  the  executive,  which  during  the  short  time  he 
has  held  sway  in  the  White  House  he  has  magnified  and 
extended  beyond  proper  sphere.  Questions  that  may  be 
asked  are :  Is  a  man  who  condemns  his  predecessors  to 
be  trusted  to  respect  the  traditions  of  the  office  which  they 
have  filled?  May  he  who  condemns  the  creators  be 
trusted  to  protect  and  preserve  the  things  of  their  creation? 
Is  a  man  who  is  wantonly  extravagant  and  reckless  in  his 
acts  and  expressions  to  be  depended  upon  for  a  policy  of 
safety  and  sanity? 

Mr.  Roosevelt’s  “Naval  War  of  1812"  and  his  “Oliver 
vromweir  appear  to  have  been  written  for  the  purpose  of 


'Shattering  TA  meric  an  Ideals 


4 


hawing  that  the  militia  .is  utterly  worthless  and  that  a 
•ast  navy  is  a  necessity.  )t  His  version  of  the  war  of  1812 
5  that  the  American  militiamen  were  cowards  commanded 
Jiy  incompetent  and  untrained  officers  and  that  they  were 
*  eaten  ill  every  considerable  clash  of  arms  with  the  British 
Regulars  and  Indians.  He  credits  the  British  with  vie- 
jories  at  Bladensburg,  Lundy’s  Lane.  Niagara,  at  North 
.Pqint  and  in  almost  every  engagement  in  the  war.  Lossingv 
Rfdpath,  Harper’s,  Strait,  and  all  other  American  histories 
a  Lssert  that  the  Americans  were  victorious  in  these  engage- 
r  nents,  and  their  statements  of  fact  conflict  with  Air.  Roose- 
a  felt  in  almost  every  material  poiny 

[The  navy,  according  to  President  Roosevelt,  was  quite 
r:is  worthless  as  the  militia  in  the  war  of  1812J  He  de¬ 
clares  Commodore  Perry  does  not  deserve  the  credit  ac¬ 
corded  him  for  the  famous  fight  which  drove  England  from 
t  he  Great  Lakes,  and  that  Commodore  Decatur  was  greatly 
C  werestimated  and  was  not  entitled  to  the  hoonrs  bestowed 
1  ipon  him  by  the  people  and  the  Congress.  John  Paul  Jones, 
t  he  hero  of  the  war,  is  referred  to  as  a  pirate  and  General 
]  dull  is  labeled  a  coward.  General  V an  Rensselaer  is  char- 
?  jicterized  as  “an  amiable  old  gentleman,  without  military 
training”  although  at  the  time  he  was  but  thirty-eight  years 
c  If  age,  had  been  in  the  military  service  for  fifteen  years  and 
h  ad  been  four  times  wounded  in  battles,  fin  short,  every 
r  eference  to  the  American  soldiers  and  sailors  in  the  war 
of  1812  is  an  apparent  effort  to  show  that  they  were  unfit, 
f  jor  service,  if  not  absolutely  cowardly  in  face  of  the  enemy. | 
1  Mr,  Roosevelt  has,  in  other  of  his  books,  notably  “Amer- 
f  can  Ideals,”  “Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris”  and  “Life  of 
I  Benton/*  dealt  summarily  with  all  of  the  early  Presidents 
alnd  statesmen  of  the  country  and  found  them  all  wanting- 
I|Ie  criticises  Washington  for  his  appointment  of  Jay  as 


1 Minister  to  England  and  Monroe  as  minister  to  France 


aying  that  it  “was  rank  injustice”  to  the  countries  mem 
ionecl  to  send  such  representatives.  He  declares  that  Wash- 


4 


Roosevelt ,  Historian 


irigton  can  not  be  compared  as  a  military  general  with  Le 
and  that  Washington's  administration  was  in  error  in  not 
dealing  vigorously  with  important  questions. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  contempt  for  President  Jefferson  is  ex¬ 
pressed  in  the  strongest  possible  language.  Jefferson,  he 
says,  was  “the  mast  incapable  executive  that  ever  filled  the 
executive  chair.”  jpHe  declares  that  the  war  of  1812  “was  at¬ 
tended  by  incidents  of  shame  and  disgrace  to  America,  for 
which  Jefferson  and  Madison  and  their  political  friends  and 
supporters  among  the' politicians  and  the  people  have  never 
received  a  sufficiently  severe  condemnation. |  He  accuses 
Jefferson  of  being  “engaged  in  tortuous  intrigues  against 
Washington  and  was  thwarting  his  wishes,  -so  far  as 
he  dared.”  He  says  that  “Washington  grew  to 
distrust  Madison  as  he  long  before  had  distrusted 
Jefferson  and  had  come  into  constantly  closer  re¬ 
lations  with  their  enemies.”  The  President  also 
insists  that  Jefferson  does  not  deserve  any  credit  for  the! 
Louisiana  Purchase  and,  it  may  be  recalled,  in  his  address 
at  St.  Louis,  dedication  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposi-j 
tion  grounds,  in  May,  1903,  he  refrained  from  referring  to 
Jefferson  in  any  complimentary  way.  He  declares  that 
Gouverneur  Morris  “despised  Jefferson  as  a  tricky  and  in¬ 
capable  theorist”  and  as  “a  man  who  believed  in  the  wis¬ 
dom  of  mobs  and  moderation  of  the  Jacobins  and  vvhoj 
found  himself  in  the  wretched  plight  of  being  forced  to 
turn  out  good  officers  to  make  room  for  the  unworthy.”  He 
insists  that  Jefferson's  influence  was  “on  the  whole,  dis¬ 
tinctly  evil,”  and  that  he  was  “the  father  of  nullification 
and  therefore  of  secession.”  Altogether.  Mr.  Roosevelt 
has  given  us  a  Jefferson  of  whom  none  of  the  other  Amer¬ 
ican  historians  apparently  had  any  knowledge  or  informa¬ 
tion. 


i 


Americans  who  gathered  from  their  reading  of  history 


that  James  Madison  was  a  capable  President  and  remem¬ 
ber  of  his  success  in  waging  the  second  war  with  England, 


Shattering  'American  Ideals 


o 

will  learn  from  Mr.  Roosevelt's  life  of  G.  Morris  .that  “ex¬ 
cepting  Jefferson,  we  have  never  produced  an  executive 
more  helpless  than  Madison”  and  that  “he  was  a  ridicu¬ 
lously  incompetnet  leader  for  a  war  with  Great  Britain.” 
Mr.  Roosevelt  says  that  the  war  was  forced  by  the  “fiery 
young  Democrats  of  the  South  and  West,  who  were,  for 
all  their  bluster,  but  one  shade  less  incompetent  than  their 
nominal  chief.” 

|  Mr.  Roosevelt's  “Naval  War  of  1812"  says:  “1  think  lie 
(James  Monroe)  was  as  much  a  failure  as  his  predecessors 
and  a  harsher  criticism  could  not  be  passed  upon  him." 
Again  we  are  told  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  that  Monroe  “was  well 
fitted  to  act  as  a  President  figurehead,”  and  that  lie  was 
“a  very  amiable  gentleman  but  distinctly  one  who  comes 
in  the  category  of  those  whose  greatness  is  thrust  upon 
them.’ | 

In  his  “Life  of  Benton,”  Mr.  Roosevelt  tells  us  that  “the 
public  service  then  (in  Jackson's  administration)  took  its 
first  and  greatest  step  in  that  downward  career  of  progress¬ 
ive  debasement  and  deterioration  which  has  only  been 
checked  in  our  own  days.”  We  also  learn  that  Jackson  was 
a  man  of  “strong,  narrow  mind  and  bitter  prejudice  with 
few  statesmanlike  qualities,  who,  for  brilliant  military 
services,  was  raised  to  the  highest  civil  positon.”  Jackson 
is  severely  criticised  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  for  his  appointments, 
particularly  of  Justice  Taney  and  other  members  of  his 
Cabinet. 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  speaking  of  President  Polk,  declares  that 
“the  abolitionists  joined  hands  with  the  toughs  of  the  North 
and  the  slavocrats  of  the  South  to  elect  the  man  who  was, 
excepting  Tyler,  the  very  smallest  of  the  line  of  small 
Presidents'  who 'came  between  Jackson  and  Lincoln.”  So 
it  seems  that  the  country  began  poorly  with  Washington, 
Madison  and  Jefferson  and  kept  getting  worse,  in  the  selec¬ 
tion  of  Chief  Executives. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  declares  that  “Van  Buren  was  the  first 


6  R'oosevelt,  Historian . 

product  of  what  is  now  called  machine  politics  that  was 
put  into  the  Presidential  chair."  and  that.  “Van  Buren 
faithfully  served  the.  mammon  of  unrighteousness  both  in 
his  own  State  and  at  Washington,  and  he  had  his  reward 
for  lie  was  advanced  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
nation,  f 

In  his  “Life  of  Benton, Mr.  Roosevelt  refers  to  Presi¬ 
dent  Tyler  as  a  “politician  of  monumental  littleness,"  whose 
“chief  moral : and  .mental  attributes  were  peevishness,  fret¬ 
ful  obstinacy,  inconsistency:  incapacity  to  make  up  his  own 
mind,  and  the  ability  to 'quibble  indefinitely  over  the  most 
microscopic  and  •hair-splitting  play  upon  words,  together 
with  an  inordinate  vanity  that  so  blinded  him. to  all  out¬ 
side  feeling  as  to  make  him  think  lie  stood  a  chance  to  be 
renominated  for  the  Presidency.” 

\While  the  country,  according  to  Historian  Roosevelt., 
was  particularly  unfortunate,  in  the  selection  of  weaklings 
for  Presidents,  in  the  early  day,  it  was  not  less  so  in  the 
character  of  the  lesser  statesmen  who  played  an  im¬ 
portant  part  in  shaping  the  nation’s  destinies^  We  are  in¬ 
formed  that  Samuel  Adams  was  in  cabal  against  Washing¬ 
ton  and  that,  while  lie' and  John  Hancock  “did  admirable 
service  in  exciting  the  Americans  to  make  the  struggle 
(for  independence) ,  once  it  was  begun  their  function  ended 
and  from  thence  onward  they  hampered  as  much  as  they 
helped  the  patriot,  cause.”  We  arc  informed  that  Senator 
Timothy  Pickering  “showed  eager  desire  to  stand  by  an¬ 
other  country  to  the  . hurt  of  his  own  country’s  honor.”  We 
are  told  that  the'  name  of  Oliver  Ellsworth-.  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  “should  be  branded  with  infamy  be¬ 
cause  of  the  words  lie  uttered,”  and  that  General  Winfield 
Scott  was  “a  wholly  absurd  and  flatulent  personage.”  Mr. 
Roosevelt  assures  us  in  one  chapter  that  the  financial 
theories  of  Thomas  Benton  were  “crude  and  vicious"  and 
in  another  chapter  that  Benton’s  financial  theories  “were 
right  and  those  of  his  opponents  were  wrong.”  lie  de- 


Shattering  American  Ideals 


7 


dares  that  Clay  was  susceptible  to  “'the  charge  of  loose 
living,”  and  says  that  the  blame  that  attaches  to  Qlpy  and 
Calhoun  ‘'relates  to  their  utter  inability  and  the  extra ordh 
(  nary  weakness  and  indecisiompLall  their  policies,  and  on. 
j  all  these  points  it  is , .hardly  possible do-vislt them  with  too 
f  unsparing  censure/’  ^These  are  but  instances  of  Mr.  Roose- 
j  velt’s  criticisms  of  statesmen  and  party  leaders  in  the  earlier 
days  of  the  Republic.  Few  of  them  escaped  his  rebuke 
either  for  their  policies  or  their  methods  in  prosecuting 
them.^ 

r  In  his  ‘‘American  Ideals/’  Author  Roosevelt  thanks  the 
^  i  people  of  the  South  for  the  policy  “which  has  kept  the  tern- 

-  perate  zones  of  the  new  and  the  newest  world  as  a  heritage 

z  i  for  the  white  people.”  President  Roosevelt  has  insisted 

upon  negro  representation  in  the  offices  in  the  South  and 
has  made  it  an  issue  which  he  forced  through  an  obdurate 
Senate  in  some  instances,  while  in  others  it  is  a  still  un¬ 
decided  question.  /As  an  author,  Mr.  Roosevelt  refers  to 
the  negro  as  “a  perfectly  stupid  race,”  while  as  a  President 
and  a  candidate  for  nomination  to  that  office  he  has  in¬ 
sisted  upon  a  negro  seconding  his  nomination  in  the  con¬ 
vention  and  has  demanded  that  the  “door  of  hope”  to  per¬ 
fect  equality  with  the  white  man  be  kept  open  to  the  negro,| 
As  an  author,  Mr.  Roosevelt  declares  that  the  right  to  vote 
h ,  was  not  necessarily  given  to  the  black  man,  while  as  Fresi- 
r  dent  he  has  insisted  upon  the  right  of  suffrage  being  ex- 
c  tended  to  the  negroes,  even  to  the  point  of  assuring,  by 
f  \  such  privilege,  negro  domination  in  many  districts  in  the 
\  South. 

I  In  his  “Life  of  Benton,”  Mr.  Roosevelt  declares  that  the 
I  \  protective  tariff  policy  is  “vicious  in  theory  and  harmful  in 
a  i  practice.”  As  President,  in  1902,  he  promised,  at  Logans- 
I  i  port,  Indiana,  the  appointment  of  a  tariff  commission  to 
r  study  methods  for  revising  the  schedules,  jf"  In  1904  he  de¬ 
clares  for  the  “standpat”  policy,  insisting  that  the  principle 
of  the  protective  tariff  policy  is  right  and  that  no  change 


8 


Roasevdt,  Historian 


in  the  schedules  shall  be  made  except  by  the  Republicans 
pledged  to  the  maintenance  of  the  system  which  he  once 
denounced.  ^In  1902  President  Roosevelt  declared  in  favor 
of  reciprocity  in  competive  products.  In  1904  he  opposes 
reciprocity  that  will  affect  “any”  American  industry.  The' 
change  can  only  be  accounted  for  on  the  theory  that  he  has 
yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the  men  who  are  in  control  of  the 
machinery  of  his  party  and  the  chief  beneficiaries  of  the 
tariff  system i 

As  President.  Air.  Roosevelt  has  given  expression  to 
many  highly  complimentary  words  for  the  American 
farmer  and  the  American  workingman;  yet  in  his  “Ameri¬ 
can  Ideals”  he  tells  of  the  folly  of  Eastern  men  who  l<?an 
money  on  farm  mortgages  in  the  West,  while  in  “Ranch 
Life  and  Hunting  Trail”  he  tells  us  that,  while  the  cow¬ 
boys  frequently  kill  each  other  in  deadly  feuds  and  shoot 
up  towns  when  they  are  drunk,  “they  are  better  fellows  and 
pleasanter  companions  than  small  farmers  or  agricultural 
laborers  ;  nor  are  the  mechanics  and  workmen  of  the  great 
cities  to  be  mentioned  in  the  same  breath.” 
t  As  an  author,  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  denounced  the  colonial 
policy  and  has  presented  many  cogent  arguments  against 
the  adoption  of  any  such  policy  by  this  nation.  As  Presi¬ 
dent  he  has  warmly  defended  the  policy,  in  his  messages 
to  Congress,  .in  his  public,  addresses,  and  in  many  official 
communications  to  .colonial  representatives  intended  for 
miblication  for  political  reasons.1 

f  Always  speaking  with  the  tone  of  expert  authority  on 
military  matters,  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  in  his  books  condemned 
the  militia  and  lauded  the  regular  soldiers)  He  has  pub 
licly  heralded  General  Nelson  A.  Miles  as  one  of  the  great¬ 
est  soldiers  of  the  day  and  has  also  dismissed  him  with  the 
same  scant  consideration  that  is  given  to  a  sergeant  dis¬ 
missed  in  dishonor. 

£  .  Instances,  might  be  multiplied  almost  indefinitely  of  the 
Conflict  of  expression  between  Mr.  Roosevelt  as  an  author 


9 


Shattering  / tmcricay  Meals 

and  Mr.  Roosevelt  as  a  public  official!  As  an  author  he 
has  denounced  the  Quakers,  and  commended  them  highly 
in  an  official  address.  He  has  referred  to  George  Gould 
as  a  member  of  the  “wealthy  criminal  class/’  and  has  enter¬ 
tained  him  at  White  House  dinners.  He  has  characterized 
“Lou”  Payne  as  the  “leader  of  the, most  disreputable  politi¬ 
cal  class  in  New  York,”  and  has  conferred  with  him  for 
hours  at  the  White  House  on  New  York  politics.  He  has 
denounced  all  opponents  of  the  Civil  Service  system  and 
has  sustained  a  Postmaster-General  who  dismissed  a  post¬ 
mistress,  protected  by  Civil  Service,  ^because  she  was  ‘‘per¬ 
sonally  obnoxious”  to  a  Senator.  Hie  has  called  women 
suffragists  “intolerable  nuisances”  and  has  declared  that 
Prohibitionists  are  the  strongest  allies  of  the  saloonkeeper. 
He  has  denounced  all  Populists  as  cranks  and  “anarchists” 
and  has  bitterly  assailed  all  classes  of  citizens  who  do  not 
.agree  with  his  pronounced,  although  not  always  fixed,  views 
on  current  issues^ 

/Expressions  impugning  the  motives  and  sometimes  even 
the  honesty  of  persons  disagreeing  with  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
views  are  quite  common  in  all  his  writings.)  The  best  peo¬ 
ple,  the  intelligent  classes,  the  real  thinkers  and  men  above 
reproach  he  constantly  tells  us  think  so  and  so,  and  this  so 
and  so  are  always  in  accord  with  Mr.  Roosevelt.  For  ex¬ 
ample,  speaking  of  Civil  Service  reform,  he  tells  us  in 
“American  Ideals,”  page  1 5 1 :  “Occasionally  there  have 
been  on  the  committee  members  who  are  hostile  to  reform, 
such  as  Mr.  Alderson,  of  West  Virginia;  but  these  ones 
have  not  been  carrying  weight  in  the  House.  The  men  of 
intelligence  and  ability  who  once  familiarize  themselves 
with  the  workings  of  the  system,  *  *  *  are  sure  to 

come  to  be  its  supporters.”  Later  he  says:  “The  opposition 
to  the  reform  is  generally  well  led  bv  skilled  parliamentar¬ 
ians,  and  they  fight  with  the  vindictiveness  natural  to  men 
who  see  a  chance  of  striking  at  the  institution  which  has 
baffled  their  ferocious  greed.  *  *  *  These  men  have 


10 


Roosevelt ,  Historian 


a  gift  at  office-mongering  just  as  other  men  have  a  peculiar 
knack  of  picking  pockets/'  He  speaks  of  the  men  who  have 
advocated  Civil  Service  law  as  men  of  spotless  character 
and  clearly  leaves  the  inference  that  such  men  as  Spinola, 
of  New  York;  Enloe  of  Tennessee;  Stockdale.  of  Missis¬ 
sippi  ;  Grosvenor.  of  Ohio,  and  Bowers,  of  California,  who 
opposed  the  bill,  were  of  the  opposite  class.  The  man  on 
the  other  side  is  almost  invariably  inspired  by  wrong  mo¬ 
tives,  and  if  not  downright  dishonest  is  made  to  appear  so. 
He  always  jumps  at  extremes.  To  him  Populists  are  an¬ 
archists.  (American  Ideals,  page  4.)  Confederates  such 
as  Jefferson  Davis  were  arch-traitors;  deists  such  as  Frank¬ 
lin,  Paine  and  Jefferson  were  atheists  or  agnostics.  There 
is  no  middle  course.  Opponents  of  Civil  Service,  imperial¬ 
ism  and  independence  for  Filipinos  all  appear  to  him  as 
either  ignorant,  insincere,  mercenary  or  traitorous,  while 
the  best  people,  the  brains  of  the  nation,  are  always  on  his 
side.  In1  his  noble  course  towards  the  reformation  of  the 
world,  whether  as  Civil  Service  Commissioner,  head  of  the 
New  York  police,  or  President  of  the  United  States  lie 
seems  destined  to  ever  encounter,  to  use  his  own  words, 
‘‘the  venomous  opposition  of  all  men  whose  interest  it  was 
that  corruption  should  continue,  or  who  were  of  such  dull 
morality  that  they  were  not  willing  to  see  honesty  triumph 
at  the  cost  of  strife.” 

f  In  the  accompanying  extracts,  those  taken  from  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  books,  magazine  articles,  or  public  utterances, 
arc  in  each  instance  quoted  verbatim  as  they  have  appeared, 
with  proper  credits,  showing  pages  and  volumes  in  which 
they  may  be  found.  The  extracts  printed  in  refutation  are 
taken  very  largely  from  Lossing’s  Encyclopedia,  Ridpath's 
History  of  the  United  States,  and  Harpers  Encyclopedia  of 
United  States  History,  all  recognized  as  standard  author¬ 
ities.! 


'Shattering ! 'American  Ideals 


IT 


Washington’s  'Appointments  Criticized. 


j  “However,  the  fault  was  really  less  with  him  (Monroe) 
than  with  his  party  and  with  those  who  sent  him.  Monroe 
wjas  an  honorable  man,  with  a  very  unoriginal  mind,  and 
hep  oimply  reflected  the  wild,  foolish  views  held  by  his  fel¬ 
lows  of  the  Jeffersonian  Democratic-Republican  school  con¬ 
cerning  France.  His  appointment  was  an  excellent  example 
oft  the  folly  of  trying  to  carry  on  a  government  on  a  non- 
pjartisan  basis.  1  Washington  was  only  gradually  weaned 
f:*om  this  theory  by  experience;  both  Jefferson  and  Monroe 
helped  teach  him  the  lesson.  *  *  *  To  appoint  Mon¬ 

roe,  an  extreme  Democrat,  to  France,  while  at  the  same 
time  appointing  Jay,  a  strong  Federalist,  to  England,  was 
ot  only  an  absurdity  which  did  nothing  toward  reconcil- 
the  Federalists  and  Democrats  *  *  *  it  was  an 

^tual  wrong  for  it  made  our  foreign  policy  seem  double - 
ced  and  deceitful.  While  one  minister  (Monroe)  was 
rmally  embracing  such  of  the  Parisian  statesmen  as  had 
itherto  escaped  the  guillotine,  and  was  going  through 
arious  other  theatrical  performances  that  do  not  appeal  to 
any  but  a  Gallic  mind,  his  fellow  (Jay)  was  engaged  in 
negotiating  a  treaty  in  England  that  was  so  obnoxious  to 
France  as  to  almost  bring  on  a  rupture  with  her.  *  *  * 

But  certainly jSf  we  intended  to  enter  into  such  negotiations 
with  Great  Britain,  it  was  rank  injustice  to  both  Monroe 
and  France  to  send  such  a  man  as  the  former  to  such  a 
country  as  the  latter." — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,” 
pages  301  and  302. 

“As  a  mere  military  man  Washington  himself  can  not 
rank  with  the  wonderful  war  chief  who  for  four  years  led 
the  army  of  Northern  Virginia;  and  the  names  of  Wash¬ 
ington  a^id  Greene  fill  up  the  short  list  of  really  great  revo- 
jitionary  generals.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,” 
ige  52. 

./“Washington’s  administration  was  in  error  in  not  acting 


12  Roosevelt ,  Historian 

■  .  f 

with  greater  decision  about  the  Spanish  posts.” — Roose-i 
velt’s  “Winning  of  the  West,”  Part  VI,  page  123!] 

“Four-fifths  of  the  talent,  ability  and  good  sense  of  the 
country  were  to  be  found  in  the  Federalist  rank;  for  the 
Federalists  had  held  their  own  so  far,  by  sheer  force  ofj 
courage  and  intellectual  vigor,  over  foes  in  reality  mod 
numerous.  Their  prop  had  been  Washington.  His  colos¬ 
sal  influence  was  to  the  end  decisive  in  party  contests,  and, 
he  had  in  fact,  though  hardly  in  name,  almost  entirely  aban¬ 
doned  his  early  attempts  at  nonpartisanship,  had  grown  toil 
distrust  Madison  as  he  long  before  had  distrusted  Jefferson! 
and  had  come  into  constantly  closer  relations  with  their  f 
enemies.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris,”  page 

Thomas  Jefferson  Denounced. 

i  v  \ 

^‘Jefferson,  though  a  man  whose  views  and  theories  had 
a  profound  influence  upon  national  life,  was  perhaps  the 
most  incapable  executive  that  ever  filled  the  Presidential 
chair:  being  almost  purely  a  visionary,  he  was  utterly  un-( 
able  to  grapple  with  the  slightest  actual  danger,  and,  even 
excepting  his  successor,  Madison,  it  would  be  difficult  tJ 
imagine  a  man  less  fit  to  guide  the  State  with  honor  and 
safety." — Roosevelt's  “Naval  War  of  1812,”  page  412! 

{  “The  Jeffersonians  had  no  gift  for  government,  and  were 
singularly  deficient  in  masterful  statesmen  of  the  kind  im¬ 
peratively  needed  by  any  nation  which  wishes  to  hold  arJ 
honored  place  among  other  nations.  They  showed  thei 
governmental  inaptitude  clearly  enough  later  on  when  the^ 
came  into  power,  for  they  at  once  stopped  building  the  fleet 
which  the  Federalists  had  begun,  and  allowed  the  military 
forces  of  the  nation  to  fall  into  utter  disorganization,  with 
as  a  consequence,  the  shameful  humiliations  of  the  war  of 
j8,j_\  This  war  was  of  itself  eminently  necessary  and 
proper,  and  was  excellent  in  its  results,  but  it  was  attended 
by  incidents  of  shame  and  disgrace  to  America  for  which 


Shattering  ’American  Ideals  13 

Jefferson  and  Madison  and  their  political  friends  and  sup-' 
|  porters  among  the  politicians  and  the  people  have  never  re- 
V  ceived  a  sufficiently  severe  condemnation.  ”i—  Roosevelt's 
“Winning  of  the  West.”  Edition  of  1902,  Part  VI,  pages 
u  1 14  and  1 15. 

'  “Jefferson's  course  in  the  matter  was  characteristic. 
Openly,  he  was  endeavoring  in  a  perfunctory  manner  to 
carry  out  Washington’s  policy  of  strict  neutrality  in  the 
contest  between  France  and  England,  but  secretly  he  was 
engaged  in  tortuous  intrigues  against  Washington  and 
was  thwarting  liis  wishes,  so  far  as  he  dared,  in  regard  to 
Genet.” — Roosevelt’s  “Winning  of  the  West,"  Part  VI, 
P£ge  95. 

‘  “The  only  activity  ever  exhibited  by  Congress  in  ma¬ 
terially  increasing  the  navy  previous  to  the  war,  had  been 
in  partially  carrying  out  President  Jefferson’s  ideas  of  hav¬ 
ing  an  enormous  force  of  very  worthless  gunboats — a 
scheme  whose  wisdom  was  about  on  a  par  with  some  of 
that  statesman’s  political  and  military  theories.” — Roose¬ 
velt’s  “Naval  War  of  1812,”  page  445.^ 

“It  is  not  yet  realized  that  the  men  just  mentioned" 
(Jefferson  and  Madison)  “and  their  associates  are  primari¬ 
ly  responsible  for  the  loss  we  suffered  in  it”  (the  war  of 
1812)  “and  the  bitter  humiliation  some  of  its  incidents 
cost  us.” — Roosevelt’s  “Naval  War  of  1812.”  Preface, 
page  14.) 

“Jefferson  could  write  or  speak — and  could  feel,  too — 
the  most  high-sounding  sentiments ;  but  once  it  came  to  ac¬ 
tion  he  was  absolutely  at  sea,  and  on  almost  every  matter — 
especially  where  he  did  well — he  had  to  fall  back  on  the 
Federalist  theories.  Almost  the  only  important  point  on 
which  he  allowed  himself  free  scope  was  that  of  the  na¬ 
tional  defense;  and  here,  particularly  as  regards  the  navy, 

^  he  worked  serious  harm  to  the  country.” — Roosevelt’s 
"Life  of  G.  Morris,”  pages  334  and  335. 
a  “In  the  other  party  (Democratic)  there  was  a  single 


14  Roosevelt ,  Historian 

leader,  Jefferson,  absolutely  without  a  rival,  but  supported 
bv  a  host  of  sharp  political  workers,  most  skillful  in  mar¬ 
shaling  that  unwieldy  and  hitherto  disunited  host  of  voters 
who  were  inferior  in  intelligence  to  their  fellows.”  *  * 

*  The  famous  alien  and  sedition  laws  were  exciting 
great  disgust,  and  in  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Jefferson  was 
using  them  as  handles  wherewith  to  guide  seditious  agita¬ 
tion — not  that  he  believed  in  sedition,  but  because  he  con¬ 
sidered  it  good  party  policy,  for  the  moment,  to  excite  it.” 
— Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  pages  322  and  323. 

“They”  (the  opponents  to  centralized  government)  “were 
followed  by  the  mass  of  designing  politicians  who  feared 
that  their  importance  would  be  lost  if  their  sphere  of  action 
should  be  enlarged.  Among  these  leaders  the  three  most 
conspicuous  were,  in  New  York  George  Clinton,  and  in 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia  two  much  greater  men,  Samuel 
Adams  and  Patrick  Henry.  All  three  had  done  excellent 
service  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  troubles. 
Patrick  Henry  lived  to  redeem  himself,  almost  in  his  last 
hour,  by  the  noble  stand  he  took  in  aid  of  Washington 
against  the  Democratic  nullification  of  Jefferson  and  Madi¬ 
son,  but  the  usefulness  of  each  of  the  other  two  was  limited 
to  the  early  portion  of  his  career.”— Roosevelt’s  “Life  of 
G.  Morris,”  page  128. 

“He”  (G.  Morris)  “despised  Jefferson  as  a  tricky  and 
incapable  theorist,  skillful  in  getting  votes,  but  in  nothing 
else ;  a  man  who  believed  in  the  wisdom  of  mobs  and  mod¬ 
eration  of  Jacobins,  and  who  found  himself  in  the  wretched 
plight  of  being  forced  to  turn  out  good  officers  to  make 
room  for  the  unworthy.” — rRoosevelt’s  “Life  of  Morris,” 
page  331. 

“At  this  period  Genet  was  in  the  midst  of  his  prepos¬ 
terous  career  as  Minister  from  the  French  Republic  to  the 
United  States.  The  various  bodies  of  men  who  afterwards 
coalesced  into  the  Democratic-Republican  party  were  fran¬ 
tically  in  favor  of  the  French  Revolution,  regarding  it  with 


Shattering  American ■  Ideals 


n 

)  a  fatuous  admiration  quite  as  foolish  as  the  horror  with 
I  which  it  affected  most  of  the  Federalists.  They  were  al- 
\)  ready  looking  to  Jefferson  as  their  leader,  and  Jefferson, 
though  at  the  time  Secretary  of  State  under  Washington, 
was  secretly  encouraging  them  and  was  playing  a  very  dis- 
.  creditable  part  toward  his  chief.”  *  *  *  “Kentucky 
&  was  already  under  the  influence  of  the  same  forces  that 
I  were  at  work  in  V irginia  and  elsewhere,  and  the  classes  of 
her  people  who  were  politically  dominant  were  saturated 
with  the  ideas  of  those  doctrinaire  politicians  of  whom  Jef¬ 
ferson  was  chief.  These  Jeffersonian  doctrinaires  were 
men  who  at  certain  crises,  in  certain  countries,  might  have 
rendered  great  service  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  humanity : 
but  their  influence  in  America  was  on  the  whole  distinctly 
evil,  save  that,  by  a  series  of  accidents,  they  became  the  es¬ 
pecial  champions,  and  in  consequence  were  identified  with  a 
movement  which  was  all-essential  to  the  national  well¬ 
being.” — Roosevelt’s  “Winning  of  the  West,”  Vol.  VI, 
page  9 2. 

“Benton  was  grievously  afflicted  with  the  rage  for  cheap 
pseudo-classisism  that  Jefferson  and  his  school  borrowed 
from  the  French  revolutionists.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Ben¬ 
ton,”  page  9 2. 

•  “Jefferson  was  the  father  of  nullification  and  therefore 
of  secession.  He  used  the  word  'nullify’  in  the  original 
draft  which  he  supplied  to  the  Kentucky  Legislature,  and 
though  that  body  struck  it  out  of  the  resolutions  in  1798, 
they  inserted  it  in  those  of  the  following  year.  This  was 
done  mainly  as  an  unscrupulous  party  move  on  Jefferson’s 
part,  and  when  his  side  came  into  power  he  became  a  firm 
upholder  of  the  Union;  and,  being  constitutionally  unable 
to  put  a  proper  value  on  truthfulness,  he  even  denied  that 
his  resolution  could  be  construed  to  favor  nullification.” — 
Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,”  page  95. 

“Creatures  of  this  sort  are  the  tools  which  usurpers  em- 
|  ploy  in  building  despotism.”  Mr.  Roosevelt  makes  this 
quoL**’  '►n  from  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  adds  the  following  a 


Roosevelt,  Historian 


16: 

“Sounder  and  truer  maxims  were  never  uttered :  but  un¬ 
fortunately  the  indignation  naturally  excited  by  the  utter 
weakness  and  folly  of  Jefferson' s  second  term ;  and  the  piti¬ 
able  incompetence  shown  by  both  him.  by  his  successor  and 
by  their  party  associates  in  dealing  with  affairs  so  inflamed 
and  exasperated  Morris  as  -to  make  him  completely  lose  his 
head,  and  hurried  him  to  an  opposition  so  violent  that  his 
follies  surpassed  the  worst  of  the  follies  he  condemned. ? — 
Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  page  345. 

“The  men  who  settled  and  peopled  the  Western  wilder¬ 
ness  were  the  men  who  won  Louisiana,  for  it  was  sur¬ 
rendered  by  France  merely  because  it  was  impossible  to 
hold  it  against  the  American  advance,  Jefferson,  through 
his  agents  at  Paris,  asked  only  for  New  Orleans,  but  Na¬ 
poleon  thrust  upon  him  the  great  West,  because  Napoleon 
saw,  what  the  American  statesmen  and  diplomats  did  not 
see,  but  what  the  Westerner^  felt ;  for  he  saw  no  European 
power  could  hold  the  country  beyond  the  Mississippi  when 
the  Americans  had  made  good  their  foothold  on  the  hither 
bank.” — Preface  to  Roosevelt's  “Winning  of  the  West,” 
Part  VI,  dated  May,  1896. 

[The  treaty  with  France  was  signed  April  30,  1803,  by 
Chancellor  Robert  R.  Livingston  and  James  Monroe,  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  Barbe  Marbois,  on  the  part 
of  France.  “From  this  day,”  said  Livingston,  “the  United 
States  take  their  place  among  the  powers  of  the  first  rank.” 
Livingston  and  Monroe  were  appointees  of  Jefferson,  the 
former  being  Minister  to  France,  and  the  entire  negotia¬ 
tions,  resulting  in  the  acquisition  by  the  United  States  of 
the  empire  of  the  West,  being  carried  on  under  instructions 
from  President  Jefferson  himself.  Without  him  the  treaty 
could  have  neither  been  made  nor  ratified..] 

President  Madison  Declared  Incompetent. 

“Excepting  Jefferson,  we  have  never  produced  an  execu¬ 
tive  more  helpless  than  Madison,  when  it  came  to  grappling 


Shattering  American  Ideals  xy 

with- real  dangers  and  difficulties^  Like  his  predecessor,  he  ^ 
was  only  tit  to  be  President  in  a  time  of  profound  peace; 
he  wra.s  utterly  aut  of  place  the  instant  matters  grew  turbu-  ^ 

I  lent  or  difficult  problems  arose  to  be  solved,  andt'he  was  a 
ridiculously  incompetent  leader  for  a  war  with  Great  Brit¬ 
tain.  )  He  was  entirely  too  timid  to  have  embarked  on  such 
fa  venture  of  his  own  accord,  and  was  simply  forced  into  it 
by  the  threat  of  losing  his  second  term.  The  fiery  young 
Democrats  of  the  South  and  West,  and  their  brothers  of 
the  Middle  States,  were  the  authors  of  the  war;  they  them¬ 
selves,  for  all  their  bluster,  were  but  one  shade  less  incom¬ 
petent  than  their  nominal  chief  when  it  came  to  actual 
work,  and  were  shamefully  unable  to  make  their  words  good  ^ 
by  deeds.  /The  administration  thus  drifted  into  a  war  which 
it  had  neither  the  wisdom  to  avoid  nor  the  foresight  to  pre¬ 
pare  for.”— Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  pages  348  and 
349-  j .  . 

Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  History,  Vol.  VI,  page  65, 
says: 

“He  (Madison)  became  a  member  of  the  Virginia  ex¬ 
ecutive  council  in  1778,  and  was  sent  to  Congress  in  1779. 

In  that  body  he  continually  opposed  the  issue  of  paper 
money  by  the  States.  He  was  active  until  the  peace  of 
1783,  when  be  retired  to  private  life,  but  was  drawn  out 
again  as  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  framed  the  Na¬ 
tional  Constitution.  In  that  body  he; took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  debates  and  wrote  some  of  the  papers  in  the  Fed¬ 
eralist  which  advocated  the  adoption  of  that  instrument. 

He  was  also  in  the  Virginia  convention  in  1788  that  ratified 
the  Constitution.  A  member  of  Congress  from  1789  to 
1797.  Madison  did  much  in  the  establishment  of  the  nation 
on  a  firm  foundation.  Uniting  with  the  Republican  party, 
he  was  a  moderate  opponent  of  Washington.  *  *  *  In 

1801  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  .State,  which  office  he 
held. until  his  inauguration  as  President.  He  soon  became 
involved  in  disputes  about  impressment  with  the  govern- 


i8 


Roosevelt;  Historian 


merit  of  Great  Britain,  and  in  1812  was  compelled  to  de¬ 
clare  war  against  that  nation.  He  was  enabled  to  proclaim 
a  treaty  of  peace  in  February,  1815.”' 

Ridpath’s  History  of  United  States,  page  308 : 

“Another  advantage  gained  by  the  war  was  the  recogni¬ 
tion  of  America’s  naval  strength  and  prowess.  *  *  * 

The  American  nation  became  more  conscious  of  its  own 
existence,  more  self-sufficient  than  ever  before.”  J 


Increase  of  Navy  War  of  1812  Defeated  by  Congress. 

.  “With  almost  incredible  folly  the  very  Congress  that  de¬ 
clared  war  voted  down  the  bill  to  increase  the  Navy  by 
twenty  battleships.” — Roosevelt  on  Washington’s  Maxims, 
published  in  “American  Ideals,”  page  260./ 

[If  Congress  refused  to  pass  the  bill,  why  is  Madison  held 
responsible^)  Could  he  have  added  to  the  Navy  without 
Congressional  aid  ?  It  had  not  become  the  custom  in  Presi¬ 
dent  Madison’s  time  for  the  President  to  issue  his  orders 
direct  to  Congress  or  to  pass  by  executive  decree  any  meas¬ 
ures  desired  by  him  which  Congress  had  refused  to  consider 
favorably,  ] 


President  Monroe  Worse  than  Predecessors. 

1 

“I  think  he”  (James  Monroe)  “was  as  much  a  failure  as 
his  predecessors,  and  a  harsher  criticism  could  not  be  passed 
upon  him.  (Like  the  other  statesmen  of  his  school,  he  was 
mighty  in  word  and  weak  in  action ;  bold  to  plan,  but  weak 
to  perform.” — Roosevelt’s  “Naval  War  of  1812,”  page  45 6/ 
[Monroe’s  predecessors,  condemned  with  him  in  this  par¬ 
agraph,  were  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson  and  Madison.] 
“Monroe  was  a  courteous,  high-bred  gentleman,  of  no 
especial  ability,  but  well  fitted  to  act  as  Presidential  figure¬ 
head  during  the  politically  quiet  years  of  that  era  of  good 
feeling  which  lasted  from  1816  till  1824.” — Roosevelt’s 
“Life  of  Benton,”  page  47. 


/ 


Shattering  American  Meals 


19 


1  “Monroe,  a  very  amiable  gentleman,  but  distinctly  one 
[ '  who  comes  in  the  category  of  those  whose  greatness  is 
j  thrust  upon  them.”  *  *  *  “Monroe,  as  Morris’s  sue- 

1  cessor,  entered  upon  his  new  duties  (Minister  to  France) 
j  with  an  immense  flourish,  and  rapidly  gave  a  succession  of 
1  startling  proofs  that  he  was  a  Minister  altogether  too  much 
to  the  taste  of  the  frenzied  Jacobinical  Republicans  to  whom 
he  was  accredited.  Indeed,  his  capers  were  almost  as  ex¬ 
traordinary  as  their  own,  and  seem  rather  like  the  antics 
of  some  of  the  early  French  commanders  in  Canada  in  their 
efforts  to  ingratiate  themselves  with  their  Indian  allies, 
than  like  the  performance  we  should  expect  from  a  sober 
Virginian  gentleman  on  a  mission  to  a  civilized  nation.  He 
stayed  long  enough  to  get  our  affairs  into  a  snarl,  and  was 
then  recalled  by  Washington,  receiving  from  the  latter  more 
than  one:  scathing  rebuke.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Morris,” 
page  300. 

Ridpaths’  History  of  the  Uinted  States,  pages  309  and 
3  A  says: 

‘[The  Democratic  principles  which  had  marked  the  ad¬ 
ministrations  of  Jefferson  and  Madison  were  adopted  and 
furthered  by  Monroe. j  The  animosities  and  party.,„strifes 
which  had  prevailed  to  so  great  an  extent  since  the  death 
of  Washington  seemed  for  a  season  to  subside.  The  states¬ 
men  who  determined  the  policy  of  the  government  devoted 
themselves  earnestly  to  the  payment  of  the  national  debt. 
Wise  measures  were  adopted  for  the  liquidation  and  fund¬ 
ing  of  the  national  burden  and  commerce  speedily  revived. 
The  government  was  economically  and  faithfully  admin¬ 
istered.  ^Monroe  had  many  of  the  political  characteristics 
of  the  Father  of  his  Country  and  his  official  duties  were 
performed  in  a  spirit  of  patriotism  and  devotion  to  the  pub¬ 
lic  welfare.)  *  *  *  In  1822  a  bill  was  passed  by  Con¬ 

gress  recognizing  the  independence  of  the  new  States  of 
South  America.  The  President  (Monroe)  sympathized 
|  in  these  movements  and  in  the  following  year  took  up  the 


20 


Roosevelt^  Historian  ' 


question  in  his  annual  message.  *  *  *  The  declara¬ 

tion  then  made  (now  known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine), 
however  vague  it  may  seem  in  retrospect,  became  famous  at 
the  time  and  has  ever  since  held  its  place  in  the  politics  and 
diplomacy  of  the  United  States.” 


Andrew  Jackson  s  “Harmful  Administration.” 

ft  d‘The  public  service  then  (in  Jackson’s  administration) 
took  its  first  and  greatest  step  in  that  downward  career  of 
progressive  debasement  and  deterioration  which  has  only 
been  checked  in  our  own  days.”  *  *  *  “A .very  charm¬ 

ing  English  historian  of  our  day  has  compared  Wellington 
with  Washington;  it  would  have  been  far  more  just  to  have 
compared  him  with  Andrew  Jackson.  Both  were  men  of 
strong,  narrow  minds  and  bitter  prejudices  with  few  states¬ 
manlike  qualities,  who,  for  brilliant  military  services,  were 
raised  to  the  highest  civil  positions.”  *  *  *  “Welling¬ 

ton’s  military  successes  were  far  greater  for  he  had  more 
chances.”  *  *  *  “As  a  statesman  Wellington  may 

have  done  less  harm  than  Jackson,  for  he  had  less  in- 
duence.”-4-Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,”  page  74. 1 
/  “Jackson  experienced  some  difficulty  in  getting  a  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Treasury  who  would  take  such  a -step”  (with¬ 
drawal  of  funds  from  United  States  banks).  *  *  * 

“Two  years  later,  Jackson  made  Taney  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  in  which  position  he  lived  to  do  even 
more  mischief  than  lie  had  time  or  opportunity  to  accom¬ 
plish  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of 
Benton,  pages  130  and  131.  “Judge  Taney  of  unhappy 
fame.” — The  same,  page  358^ 

^Harpers  Encyclopedia  of  History]  Vol.  V,  pages  95  and 
96,  says : 

“His  warfare  on  the  United  States  Bank,  during  his 
Presidency  resulted  in  its  destruction.  President  Jackson 
possessed  great  firmness  and  decision  of  character ;  was 


21 


Shattering  American  Ideals 

honest  and  true;  not  always  correct  in  his  judgment often 
rash  in  expression  and  action ;  misled  sometimes  by  his  hot 
anger  to  acts  injurious  to  his  reputation;  of  unflinching  per¬ 
sonal  courage;  possessed  of  a  tender,  sympathizing  nature, 
although  sometimes  appearing  fiercely  leonine  ;  and  a  pa¬ 
triot  of  purest  stamp.  He  retired  from  public  life  forever 
in  the  spring  of  1837.  Id  is  administration  of  eight  years 
was  marked  by  great  energy  and  never  were  the  affairs  of 
the  republic  in  its  domestic  and  foreign  relations  more 
prosperous  than  at  the  close  of  his  term  of  office.’) 


Polk  One  of  the  Smallest  of  the  Presidents. 

kpolk  was  backed  by  rabid  Southern  fire-eaters  and 
slavery  extensionists,  who  had  defied  negro  bondage  and 
exalted  it  beyond  the  Union,  the  Constitution  and  every¬ 
thing  else;^by  the  almost  solid  foreign  vote,  still  unfit  for 
the  duties  of  American  citizenship,  by  the  vicious  and  crim¬ 
inal  classes  in  all  the  great  cities  of  the  North  and  in  New 
Orleans;  by  the  corrupt  politicians  *  *  *  and  lastly, 

he  was  also  backed  indirectly  but  most  powerfully  bv  the 
political  abolitionists.”— PRoosevelt’s  ‘‘Life  of  Benton,”  page 
291.)  “The  Abolitionists  joined  hands  with  Northern  roughs 
and  Southern  slavocrats  to  elect  the  man  who  was,  except¬ 
ing  Tyler,  the  very  smallest  of  the  line  of  small  Presidents 
who  came  between  Jackson  and  Lincoln.” — Ibid.,  page  292. 

'Harper’s  Encyclopedia' of  History,  Vol.  VIII,  page  236, 
says : 

“Mr.  Polk  served  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  from  1835  to  1837,  and,  in  1839,  having  served  four¬ 
teen  years  in  Congress,  declined  a  re-election.  Pie  was  a 
candidate  for  the  Vice  Presidency  in  1840,  but  was  de¬ 
feated.  In  1844  the  Democratic  convention  at  Baltimore 
nominated  him  for  the  Presidency,  chiefly  because  he  was 
in  favor  of  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  he  was  elected, 
his  opponents  being  Henry  Clay  and  James  G.  Birney.  Dur- 


—  Roosevelt ,  Historian 

in g  his  administration  the  most  important  event  was  a  war 
with  Mexico,  1846  to  1848.  The  other  chief  events  of  his 
administration  were  the  establishment  of  an  independent 
treasury  system,  the  enactment  of  a  low  tariff  system  and 
the  creation  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior.” 

It  may  be  added  that  President  Polk  took  a  most  active 
part  in  securing  the  Congressional  enactment  of  the  law 
establishing  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  referred  to  by  His¬ 
torian  Ridpath  as  “one  of  the  most  beneficent  institutions 
known  in  the  history  of  mankind.” 


\ 


President  Van  Buren  Criticised. 


V  (. 


Van  Buren  was  the  first  product  of  what  are  now  called 
machine  politics  that  was  put  into  the  Presidential  chair./ 
He  owed  his  elevation  solely  to  his  own  dexterous  political 
manipulations  and  to  the  fact  that,  for  his  own  selfish  ends, 
and  knowing  perfectly  well  their  folly,  he  had  yet  favored 
or  connived  at  all  the  actions  into  which  the  administration 
had  been  led  either  through  Jackson’s  ignorance  and  vio¬ 
lence.  or  by  the  crafty  unscrupulousness  and  limited  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  Kitchin  Cabinet.  I  He  became  Jackson’s  political 
legatee.  *  *  *  The  famous  Kitchin  Cabinet  was  so 

called  because  its  members  held  no  official  positions  and  yet 
were  known  to  have  Jackson  more  under  their  influence 
than  was  the  case  with  his  nominal  advisers.®  They  stood 
as  the  first  representatives  of  a  type  common  enough  after¬ 
wards  and  of  which  Thurlow  Weed  was  perhaps  the  best 
example.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,”  page  185.  “Van 
Buren  faithfully  served  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness 
both  in  his  own  State  and,  later  on,  at  Washington;  and 
he  had  his  reward,  for  he  was  advanced  to  the  highest  of¬ 
fices  in  the  gift  of  the  nation.” — The  same,  page  187. 

f Harper's  Encyclopedia  of  United  States  History^  Vol. 
X,  page  7,  says: 

yThe  business  of  the  country  was  in  a  depressed  state 


Shattering  American  Ideals 


23 


Curing  most  of  his  administration,  and  his  political  oppo- 
bents,  unfairly  holding  him  (  President  Van.  Bureii)  respon¬ 
sible  for  the  grievance,  accomplished  his  defeat  at  the  next 
Presidential  election.1 

Ridpath’s  History  of  United  States,  page  329: 

'‘Van  Buren’s  administration  was  commonplace,  solely 
because  of  the  absence  of  real  issues  about  which  the  people 
might  concern  themselves.  His  defeat  was  due  to  factitious 
tights  in  his  party.” 


President  Tyler's  “Monumental  Littleness.” 

^“Tyler  had  little  in  common  with  Calhoun,  and  least  of 
all  his  intellect J  He  was  a  mediocre  man;  but  that  is  un¬ 
warranted  flattery— (-he  was  a  politician  of  monumental  lit¬ 
tleness.)  *  *  *  His  chief  mental  and  moral  attributes 

were  peevishness,  fretful  obstinacy,  inconsistency,  incapac¬ 
ity  to  make  up  his  own  mind,  and  the  ability  to  quibble  in¬ 
definitely  over  the  most  microscopic  and  hair-splitting  play 
upon  words,  together  with  an  inordinate  vanity  that  so 
beiicled  him  to  all  outside  feeling  as  to  make  him  really 
think  he  stood  a  chance  to  be  recommended  for  the  Presi¬ 
dency."— (Roosevelt's  “Life  of  Benton,"  page  239.]  “His 
peevishness,  vacillation,  ambitious  vanity  and  sheer  puzzle- 
headedness  made  him  incline  first  to  one  side,  then  to  the 
other.  *  *  *  His  mind  oscillated  like  a  pendulum." — 

Ibid.,  page  254.  “Left  without  any  support  among  the  regu¬ 
lars  of  either  side,  and  his  own  proposed  third  party  turning 
out  a  still-born  abortion,  he  simply  played  his  'puny  part 
until  his  term  ended,  and  then  dropped  noiselessly  out  of 
sight." — Ibid.,  page  257.  Speaking  of  the  accident  on  the 
Princeton,  in  which  ex-Governor  Gilmer,  of  Virginia,  was 
killed,  Mr.  Roosevelt  writes :  “Tyler  was  on  board  and  was 
saved  in  consequence  of  a  characteristic  trait:  for.  just  as 
the  gun  was  about  to  be  fired,  something  occurred  in  another 
part  of  the  ship  which  distracted  the  attention  of  the  fussy, 


24  Roosevelt,  Historian 

fidgety  President,  who  ran  off  to  see  what  it  was/’ — Ibid.  | 
page  362.  j 

(  Ridpath’s  History  of  the  United  States,  page  336,  says :  j 
“President  Tyler  lost  the  confidence  of  his  party  because 
of  his  opposition  to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  bill  and 
his  adherence,  even  to  persistent  vetoing  of  measures  passed 
by  Congress,  to  pledges  made  when  he  was  nominated// 


Samuel  Adams  Accused  of  Disloyalty. 

“Some  of  the  delegates,  headed  by  Samuel  Adams,  were 
actually  caballing  against  the  great  chief  himself  (Washing¬ 
ton),  the  one  hope  of  America/’  *  *  *  “The  folly  of 

these  ultra-Democratic  delegates  almost  passes  belief.  They 
seemed  incapable  of  learning  how  the  fight  for  liberty  should 
be  made.  Their  leaders,  like  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Han¬ 
cock,  did  admirable  service  in  exciting  the  Americans  to 
make  the  struggle;  but  once  it  was  begun,  their  function 
ended,  and  from  thence  onward  they  hampered  as  much  as 
they  helped  the.  patriot  cause.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G. 
Morris,”  pages  77,  79,  and  80. 

Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  History,  Vol.  I,  pages  51  and 
#2,  says : 

“Stern  in  morals,  a  born  Republican,  with  courage  equal 
to  his  convictions, flSamuel  Adams  was  a  natural  leader  of 
the  opposers  of  the  stamp  act  and  kindred  measures  of  Par¬ 
liament,  and  from  that  period  (1765)  until  the  independ¬ 
ence  of  the  colonies  was  achieved  he  was  a  foremost  leader 
of  the  patriot  host,  j  *  *  *  In  1774  he  was  the  chief 

in  maturing  plans  for  the  Continental  Congress ;  was  a 
member  of  it,  and  served  in  that  body  most  efficiently  until 
1781.  As  early  as  1769  Mr.  Adams  advocated  the  inde¬ 
pendence  of  the  Colonies,  and  was  one  of  the  warmest  sup¬ 
porters  of  it  in  the  Congress.  *  *  *  Samuel  Adams 

and  John  Hancock  were  regarded  as  arch -rebels  by  General 
Gage,  and  lie  resolved  to  arrest  them  and  send  them  to  Eng- 


]] 

\ 

Shattering  American  Ideals  2:5 

fond'  to  by  tried;  for  treason.  *  *  *  In  a  proclamation 

issued  on  June  12  General  Gage  offered  a  free  pardon  to 
all  who  should  forthwith  return  to  their  allegiance,  except 
Samuel  Adams  aiid  John  Hancock.  who  were  outlawed  and 
for  whom  he  offered  a  reward  as  ‘arch-traitors. '  ” 

Gouverneur  Morris  Denounced. 

[  1 

“He  (  Gouverneur  A  orris  )  would  have  dismissed  with 
contemptuous  laughter  the  ideas  of  those  Americans  who  at 
the  .  present  day-  believe-  that  Anglo-Saxon'  democracy  can 
be  applied  successfully  to  half  savage  negroid  people,  in 
Hayti.*)  *  *  *  ^He  realized  that  a  nation  must  be  gov¬ 

erned  according  to  the  actual  needs  and  capacities  .of  its 
citizens,  not  according  to  any  abstract  theory  or  set  of  ideal 
principles.  J  When  liberty  becomes  license  some  form  of 
one-man  power  is  not  far  distant. "—Roosevelt's  “Life  of 
G.,_ Morris."  pages-  130  and  131. 

“Yet  grave  though  these  faults  were’’  (  those  of  Madison, 
Jefferson,  Clay  and  Calhoun)  “they  were  mild  compared 
with  those  committed  by  Morris  and  the  other  ■  ultra*!7 edcr- 
alists  of  New  York  and  New  England.  -^Morris’s  opposition 
to  the  war  led  him  to  the  most  extravagant  lengths.  In  hi-s 
hatred  to  the  opposite  party,  he  lost  all  loyalty  to  the  nation. 
He  championed  the  British  view  of  their  right  to  impress 
seamen  from  our  ships;  he  approved  of  peace  on  the  terms 
they  offered,  which  included  a  curtailment  of  our  Western 
frontier -and  the  erection  along  it  of  independent  Indian 
sovereignties  under  British  protection.)  He  could  spare  no 
word  of  .praise  for  our  own  victories.  He  actually  advo¬ 
cated  repudiation  of  our  war  debt.  No  greenback  dema¬ 
gogue,  of  the  lowest  type  ever  advocated  a  proposition  more 
dishonest  or  more  contemptible.”  *  *  *  “Morris  en¬ 

deavored,  fortunately  in  vain,  to  induce. Rufus  King  in  the 
Senate- to  advocate,  the  refusal  at .  supplies  of  every  sort, 
whether  of  men  or  money,  for  carrying  on  the  war;  but 


1 

I 


26 


-Roosevelt j  Historian 


King  was  too  honorable  to  turn  traitor.  Morris  wished 
that  a  foreign  power  might  occupy  and  people  the  West, 
fae  sneered  at  the  words  ‘Union’  and  ‘Constitution’  as  being 
meaningless.)'  *  *  *  /“In  fact  throughout  the  war  of 

1812  he  appeared  as  the  open  champion  of  treason  to  the 
nation,  of  dishonesty  to  the  nation’s  creditors,  and  of  cring¬ 
ing  subserviency  to  a  foreign  power.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life 
of  G.  Morris,”  pages  352,  353  and  355.) 

Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  United  States  History,  VoL 


VI,  page  292,  says: 

“Gouverneur  Morris  was  born  January  31,  1752;  grad¬ 
uated  at  King’s  college  in  1768;  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1771 
and  soon  acquired  great  reputation  as  a  lawyer.  One  of 
the  committee  that  drafted  the  constitution  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  a  member  of  Congress  from  1770  to  1780  and 
one  of  the  most  useful  of  committeemen  in  that  body,  he 
gained  much  political  influence.  In  1781  he  was  the  as¬ 
sistant  of  Robert  Morris,  superintendent  of  finance. 
*  *  *  /Prominent  in  the  convention  that  framed  the 
National  Constitution  he  put  that  instrument  into  the  lit¬ 
erary  shape  in  which  it  was  adopted)  From  1792  to  1794: 
he  was  American  minister  to  France.  He  had  seen  many 
phases  of  the  French  revolution  and  with  tantalizing  cool¬ 
ness  had  pursued  Washington’s  policy  of  neutrality  toward 
France  and  England.  This  course  offended  the  ardent 
French  republicans  and  when  making  out  letters  recalling 
Genet,  the  committee  of  public  safety,  in  which  Ropesper- 
ierre  and  his  associates  were  predominant,  solicited  the  re¬ 
call  of  Morris.  For  reasons  of  policy,  the  President  com¬ 
plied  but  accompanied  the  letter  of  recall  with  a  private 
one,  expressing  his  satisfaciton  with  Morris’s  diplomatic 
conduct.  *  *  *  In  1800  he  was  chosen  United  States 

Senator.  He  was  one  of  the  early  advocates  of  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  Erie  canal  and  chairman  of  the  canal  com¬ 
mission  from  1810  fintil  his  death  at  Morrisiania,  Novem¬ 
ber  6,  1816.” 


Shattering  'A  met  icon  Id  eats 


27 


Discrepancies  in  the  War  of  1812. 


▼  ‘The  victory  of  Lake  Erie  .was,  most  important,  both  in 
its  material  results  and  its  moral  effect.#  It  gave  us  com¬ 
plete  command  of  all  the  upper  lakes,  prevented  any  fears 
of  invasion  from  that  quarter,  increased  our  prestige  with 
the  foe  and  our  confidence  in  ourselves  and  ensured  the  con¬ 
quest  of  Upper  .Canada :  in  all  these  respects  its  importance 
has  not  been  overrated.  VBut  the  ‘glory*  acquired  by  it  has 
most- certainly  been  estimated  at  more  than  its  worth.]  Most 
Americans,  even  the  well  educated,  if  asked  which  was  the 
most  .glorious  victory  of.  the  war,  would  point  to  this  bat¬ 
tle.  Captain  Perry’s  name  is  more  widely  known  than  that 
of  any  other  commander,  'Every  school  boy  reads  about 
him,  if  of  no  other  sea  captain:  yet  he  certainly  stands  on 
a  lower  grade  than  either  Hull  or  Macdonough,  and  not  a 
bit  higher  than  a  dozen  others.)  On  Lake  Erie  our  seamen 
displayed  great  .courage  and  skill ;  but  so  did  their  antagon¬ 
ists.  hr  he  simple  truth  is  that,  where  -  on  both  sides  the 
officers  and  men  were  equally  brave  and  skillful,  the  side 
which'  possessed  the  superiority  in  force,  in  the  proportion 
of  three  to  two,  could  not  help  winning.  *  *  *  The 

attack  was  made  in  too  lose  Order,  and,  whether  it  was  the 
fault  of  Perry, or  his  subordinates,  it  fails  to  reflect  credit 
upon  the  Americans. v — Roosevelt’s  History  of  the  Naval 
War  of  18 1  a.”  pages  277  and  078./ 

/All  other  historians  agree  that  Commodore  Barclay's 
fleet  exceeded  that  of  Perrv  in  the  number  of  its  guns  and 
number  of  sailors*)  The  vessels  were  almost  equally 
matched.  “The  Battle”  writes  Lossing  (Encyclopedia  of 
United  States  History.  Vol.  1.  pages  757  and  758)  “be¬ 
gan  at  noon.  *  *  *  As  the  fleets  drew  nearer  and 

nearer,  hotter  and  hotter  waxed  the  fight.  For  two  hours 
the  Lawrence  bore  the  brunt  of  battle,  until  she  lay  on  the 
waters,  almost  a  total  wreck — her  rigging  all  shot  away, 


1 


28 


TZoosevelty'ttistomu' 

her  sails  cut  into  shreds,  her  spars  battered  into  splinters 
and  her  guns  dismounted.  One  mast  remained  apd  from  it 
streamed  the  national  flag.  The  deck  was  a  scene  of  dread¬ 
ful  carnage;  and  most  men  would  have  struck  their  flag, 
but  Perry  was  hopeful  in  gloom.  His  other  vessels  had 
fought  gallantly,  except  the  Niagara,  Captain  Elliott,  the 
stanchest  ship  in  the  fleet,  which  had  kept  outside  and  was 
unhurt.  As  she  drew  near  the  Lawrence,  Perry  decided  to 
fly  to  her  and,  renewing  the  fight,  win  the  victory.  Put¬ 
ting  on  the  uniform  of  his  rank,  that  he  might  properly  re¬ 
ceive  Barclay  as  his  prisoner,  he  took  down  the  broad  pen¬ 
nant  and  the  banner  with  the  stirring  words,  entered  the 
boat  with  his  brother,  14  years  of  age,  and  with  four  stout 
seamen  at  the  oars,  started  on  his  perilous  voyage.  *  *  * 
(  Perry  stood  upright  in  the  boat,  with  the  pennant  and  banner 
partly  wrapped  about  him.  Barclay,  who  had  been  badly 
wounded,  informed  of  Perry's  daring,  and  knowing  the 
peril  of  the  British  fleet  if  the  young  Commodore  should 
reach  the  decks  of  the  Niagara,  ordered  big  and  little  guns 
to  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  little  boat  that  held  the  hero^ 
*  *  *  iPerry  reached  the  Niagara  in  safety.  Hojsting 

his  pennant  over  her,  he  dashed  through  the  British  line 
and  eight  minutes  afterward  the  colors  of  the  British  flag¬ 
ship  were  struck.  *  *  *  The  Americans  lost  twenty  - 

seven  killed  and  ninety-six  wounded.  The  British  loss  was 
about  200  killed  and  600  made  prisoners.”/ 


“On  the  Niagara  frontier,  an  estimable  and  honest  old 
gentleman  and  worthy  citizen,  who  knew  nothing  of  mili¬ 
tary  matters,  Gen.  Van  Rensselaer,  tried  to  cross  over  and 
attack  the  British  at  Queenstown. ” — Roosevelt's  4 ‘Naval 
War  of  1812,“  Preface,  page  13. 

Solomon  Van  Rensselaer  was  born  August  6,  1774,  and 
was  consequently,  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Queenstown, 
thirty-eight  years  old  or  a  little  younger  than  the  Lieuten- 


r 


Shattering  American  Ideals 


29 


I 

1 


\ 


ant-Colonel  of  the  Rough  Riders  during  the  war  with 
Spain.  Gen.  Van  Rensselaer  entered  the  military  service  as 
a  cornet  of  cavalry  in  1792  and  was  shot  in  the  lungs  in 
the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers,  where  he  served  under  Gen. 
Wayne.  From  1801  to  1810  he  was  Adjutant-General  of 
the  New  York  militia  and  was  Colonel  of  volunteers  in  1812, 
During  the  engagement  of  which  Mr.  Roosevelt  speaks, 
Van  Rensselaer  received  four  wounds  and  had  to  be  car¬ 
ried  back  to  Lewiston.  He  died  forty  years  after  Mr 
Roosevelt  had  designated  him  as  “an  old  gentleman. ”  See 
Lossing's  Encyclopedia  of  United  States  History,  Vol.  II, 
page  1447-  j 

Mr.  William  M.  Clements,  in  “Roosevelt,  the  American,’’ 
page  76,  informs  us  that  “Roosevelt’s  History  of  the  Naval 
War  of  1812  is  valued  in  England  and  is  authoritatively 
quoted  in  Brassey’s  naval  annual.”)  There  is  reason  for  all 
things  and  a  (few  quotations  from  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  naval 
history  will  serve  to  explain  its  English  popularity.  I 
(“The  small  British  army  marched  at  will  through  Vir¬ 
ginia  and  Maryland,  burned  Washington,  and  finally  re¬ 
treated  from  before  Baltimore  and  embarked  to  take  part  in 
the  expedition  before  New  Orleans.  Twice,  at  Bladens- 
burg  and  North  Point,  it  came  in  contact  with  superior 
numbers  of  militia  in  fairly  good  position.  In  each  case 
the  result  was  the  same.  After  some  preliminary  skir¬ 
mishing,  maneuvering  and  volley  firing,  the  British  charged 
with  the  bayonet.  The  rawest  regiments  among  the  Ameri¬ 
can  militia  then  broke  at  once ;  the  others  kept  pretty  steady 
pouring  in  quite  a  destructive  fire,  until  the  regulars  had 
come  up  close  to  them,  when  they  also  fled.  *  *  *  At 

North  Point,  however,  the  militia,  being  more  experienced, 
behaved  better  than  at  Bladensburg.” — Preface  to  Roose¬ 
velt’s  “Naval  War  of  1812.’) 

“At  Bladensburg  the  5,000  British  regulars,  utterly  worn 
out  by  the  heat  and  fatigue,  by  their  mere,  appearance, 


30  'Rootiwelh  •  Hist-mm 

frightened  into  a  panic  double  their  number  of  American 
militia,  well  posted/’ — Roosevelt's  “Naval  War  of  1812/’ 
page  9.J 

Eossing’s  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  I.  page  134,  says: 

“’When  the  report  came  that  the  British  were  marching- 
on  Bladensburg,  Winder  sent  troops  immediately  to  reen¬ 
force  those  already  there,  and  soon  followed  in  person.  The 
overwhelming  number  of  the  invaders  put  his  little  army 
in  great  peril.  He  was  compelled  to  fight  or  surrender.  He 
chose  to  fight  and  at  a  little  past  noon  a  severe  contest  be¬ 
gan.  The  troops  under  General  Winder,  including  those 
from  Baltimore,  about  2,200,  and  detacfiments  at  various 
points,  watching  the  movements  of  the  British,  with  the 
men  of  Barney’s  flotilla,  were  about  7,000  strong,  of  whom 
900  were  enlisted  men.  But  many  of  these  were  at  distant 
points  of  Observation.  The  cavalry  did  not  exceed  400. 
The  little  army  had  twenty-six  pieces  of  cannon,  of  which 
twenty  were  six-pounders.  *  *  *  As  the  British  de¬ 

scended  the  hills  and  pressed  toward  the  bridge  at  Bladens¬ 
burg,  they  commenced  hurling  rockets  at  the  exposed  Amer¬ 
icans.  They  were  repulsed,  at  first,  but  being  continually 
reenforced,  they  pushed  across  the  stream  in  the  face  of  a 
deadly  fire.  A  terrible  conflict  ensued,  when  another  shower 
of  rockets  made  the  regiments  of  militia  break  and  flee 
in  wildest  disorder.  Winder  tried  in  vain  to  rally  them. 
Another  corps  held  its  position  gallantly,  for  a  while,  when 
it,  too,  fled  in  disorder,  covered  by  riflemen.  The  British 
still  pressed  on  and  encountered  Commodore  Barney  and 
his  flotilla  men.  After  a  desperate  struggle,  in  which  Com¬ 
modore  barney  was  severely  wounded,  General  Winder  or¬ 
dered  a  general  retreat.  The  Americans  lost  26  killed  and 
50  -wounded,  the  British  more  than  50P  killed  and  wounded, 
among  them  several  officers  of  rank  and  distinction." 

I  Dr.  A.  W.  Strait’s  “Battles  of  War  of  181 2,”  says: 

“The  battle  of  North  Point,  Maryland,  September  12-14, 


Shattering  'American  Ideals 


31 


j 

was  fought  between  5,000  British  under  General  Ross  and 
2,300  Americans  under  General  Stryker,  and  although  the 
Americans  were  compelled  to  retreat  behind  their  intrench- 
ments,  General  Ross  and  290  other  British  were  killed, 
wounded  or  missing  and  the  attack  upon  Baltimore  in  that 
direction  was  abandoned/’/' 

( It  is  important  to  note  in  passing  that  on  page  319  of  his 
“Naval  War  of  1812”  Mr.  Roosevelt  apparently  flatly  con¬ 
tradicts  his  own  original  statement  that  at  Biadensburg 
5,000  British  regulars  frightened  off  double  their  number 
of  American  militiamen,  well  posted.  On  page  319  of  his 
history  he  says  the  “American  army  which  was  to  oppose 
Ross  and  Cockburn  consisted  of  some  7,000.  militia,,  who 
fled  so  quickly  that  only  about  1,500  of  the  British  had  time 

to  become  engaged.^/ - 

/‘On  July  25  occurred  the  battle  of  Niagara,  or  Lundy’s 
Lane,  fought  between  General  Brown,  with  3.100  Ameri¬ 
cans,  and  General  Drummond,  with  3,500  British.  *  *  * 

The  loss  was  nearly  equal.  *  *  *  Each  side  claimed 

it  as  a  victory  over  superior  numbers.  *  *  .  *  It  is  be¬ 

yond  question  that  it  was  a  defeat  and  not  a  victory  for  the^ 
Americans/’ — Roosevelt’s  “Naval  War  of  1812,”  Preface, 

page  22.  i  - - - 

This  battle,  Dr.  Strait  says,  and  he  bases  all  of  his  state¬ 
ments  on  information  secured  from  official  sources,  was 
“fought  and  won  by  Americans  under  Generals  Scott. 
Brown  and  Ripley,  against  the  British  under  Generals  Riall 
and  Drummond.  Loss:  British.  878  killed  and  wounded; 
Americans,  860  killed  and  wounded/’  In  his  Encyclopedia, 
Lossing  places  the  number  of  British  engaged  at  4,500,  or 
1,000  more  than  given  by  Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  the  Americans 
at  2,600,  or  500  less  than  the  number  given  by  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt.  — 

“1  originally  intended  tovwrite  a  companion  volume  to 
this  which  should  deal  with  the  operations  on  land.  But  a 
short  examination  showed  that  these  operations  were  hardly 


32 


Roosevelt ,  Historian- 


worth  serious  study.  *  *  *  The  British  regulars, 

trained  in  many  wars,  thrashed  the  raw  recruits  opposed  to 
them  whenever  they  had  anything  like  a  fair  chance. 
*  *  *  It  is  not  cheerful  reading  for  an  American,  nor 

yet  of  interest  tcxthe  military  student." — Roosevelt’s  “Naval 
War  of  1812/"  Preface,  page  25. 

Other  historians,  without  exception,  agree  that  the  bat¬ 
tle  of  Chippewa,  N.  Y.,  July  5,  1814,  was  won  by  General 
Brown,  who  compelled  the  British  under  General  Riall  to 
retreat;  that  the  battle  of  Craney  Island,  Va.,  June  22,  1813, 
was  won  by  the  Americans,  630  in  number,  against  Sir  Sid¬ 
ney  Beck  worth,  with  4,000  British,  of  whom  1,200  were 
killed,  wounded  or  missing;  that  Major  Lawrence  and  134 
men  successfully  defended  Fort  Boyer  on  November  17, 
1814,  from  an  assault  by  930  British  regulars;  that  General 
Boyd  led  a  successful  American  assault  upon  Fort  George, 
May  27,  1813;  that  the  British  were  unable  to  capture  Fort 
McHenry  after  a  bombardment  lasting  twenty-five  hours; 
that  Major  Croghan  and  160  Americans  repulsed  an  attack 
of  400  British  regulars  and  800  Indians  at  Fort  Stephen¬ 
son;  that  the  Americans  won  a  victory  at  French  town,  al¬ 
though  outnumbered  two  to  one  by  the  British  and  their 
Indian  allies ;  that  the  Americans  were  victorious  at  Lundy’s 
Lane,  North  Point,  Stony  Creek,  and  other  battles  of  the 
war.  The  figures  quoted  here  are  from  official  sources  and 
have  been  accepted  as  authentic  by  the  Bureau  of  Pensions. 

'  General  Hull’s  Vindication  Not  Accepted. 

“Meanwhile  General  Brock,  the  British  commander,  ad¬ 
vanced  against  Hull  with  a  rapidity  and  decision  that  seem¬ 
ed  to  paralyze  his  senile  and  irresolute  opponent.  The  lat¬ 
ter  retreated  without  striking  a  blow  and  surrendered  1,400 
men  to  Brock’s  nearly  equal  force,  which  consisted  of  nearly 
one-half  of  Indians  under  Teeumseh.” — Roosevelt’s  “Naval 
SVar.  of  1812,”  Preface,  page  13. 


Shattering  \ American  Ideals  33 

Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  United  States  History,  Vol. 
IV,  pages  460  and  461,  says: 

“Dearborn  gave  General  Hull  no  intimation  of  the  ar¬ 
mistice  ;  and  it  was  during  its  unwarranted  continuance  for 
twenty  days  that  the  forced  surrender  of  Hull  to  over¬ 
whelming  numbers,  August  16,  took  place.  Dearborn’s  ex¬ 
cuse  for  his  silence  was  that  he  did  not  consider  Hull  within 
the  limits  of  his  command.  *  *  *  To-day  the  charac¬ 

ter  of  General  William  Hull,  purified  of  unwonted  stain’s, 
appears  in  history  without  a  blemish  in  the  eye  of  just  ap¬ 
preciation.” 


Paul  Jones  a  Pirate. 

“Morris  corresponded  with  many  men  of  note;  not  the 
least  among  whom  was  the  daring  corsair,  Paul  Jones.” — 
Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  page  196. 

Webster  defines  “corsair”  as  “a  pirate  ;  one  who  cruises 
or  scours  the  ocean  without  authorization,  to  seize  and 
plunder  merchantmen.” 

In  describing  the  fight  between  the  Bon  Homme  Richard, 
commanded  by  Paul  Jones,  and  the  British  ship  Serapis,  on 
September  23,  1779,  Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  United 
States  History,  Vol.  V,  pages  190-1,  says:  “The  flames  were 
creeping  up  the  rigging  of  the  Serapis,  and  by  their  light 
Jones  saw  that  his  double-headed  shot  had  cut  the  mast  of 
the  Serapis  almost  in  two.  He  hurled  another,  and  the  tall 
mast  fell.  ,  Pearson,  commanding  the  Serapis,  saw  his  peril, 
hauled  down  his  flag,  and  surrendered.  (As  he  handed  his 
sword  to  Jones  he  said  in  a  surly  tone,  Tt  is  painful  to  de¬ 
liver  up  my  sword  to  a  man  who  has  fought  with  a  rope 
around  his  neck.’  (Jones  had  been  declared  a  pirate  by  the 
British  government.)  yTlie  battle  ceased  after  raging  three 
hours.  The  vessels  were  disengaged,  and  the  Richard  soon 
went  to  the  bottom  of  the  North  Sea.  For  this  victory 
Congress  gave  Jones  the  thanks  of  the  Nation,  a  gold  medal 
and  a  commission  as  Commander  of  the  America,” 


34 


Roosevelt ,  Historian 


Commodore  Decatur's  Heroism  Discounted. 

do  not  think  that  the  facts  bear  out  the  assertion  on 
the  part  of  most  American  authors  that  Commodore  Decatur 
‘covered  himself  with  glory’  'and  showed  the  utmost  hero¬ 
ism.” — Roosevelt's  “Naval  War  of  1812,”  page  405./ 

Harper's  Encyclopedia  of  United  States  History,  Vol. 
VIII,  page  32,  says: 

“In  command  of  the  frigate  United  States,  Decatur  cap¬ 
tured  the  frigate  Macedonian,  October  25,  1812,  for  which 
Congress  gave  him  a  gold  medal.  The  Macedonian  was  a 
new  ship  rated  at  thirty-six,  but  carrying  forty-nine  guns. 
She  was  badly  cut  in  the  fight,  and  Decatur  thought  best 
to  order  his  prize  to  Newport  while  he  returned  in  the 
“United  States”  to  New  London.  Both  vessels  sailed  into 
New  York  harbor  on  New  Year's  Day,  1813.  The  Cor¬ 
poration  voted  Decatur  the  freedom  of  the  city  and  re¬ 
quested  his  portrait  for  the  picture  gallery  in  the  City  Hall, 
where  it  still  hangs.” 

Winfield  Scott  Called  “A  Flatulent  Personage." 

“Scott  and  Taylor  were  not  great  generals.” — Roosevelt’s 
“Life  of  Benton,”  page  268.  “Lewis  Cass  a  Northern  pro¬ 
slavery  politician  of  moderate  ability.” — The  same, page  329. 
“Winfield  Scott  a  wholly  absurd  and  flatulent  personage.” 
— The  same,  page  344. 

“When  the  war  with  Spain  came,  the  sons  of  the  men  who 
wore  the  blue  and  the  sons  of  the  men  who  wore  the  gray 
vied  with  one  another  in  the  effort  to  get  into  the  ranks  and 
face  a  foreign  foe  under  the  old  flag  that  had  been  carried  in 
triumph  under  Winfield  Scott  and  Zachary  Taylor  and 
Andrew  Jackson.”— President  Roosevelt  in  an  address  at  a 
banquet  to  Gen.  Luke  Wright  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  Nov.  19, 
1902. 

For  a  man  “of  moderate  ability,”  Lewis  Cass  cut  quite  a 
figure  in  the  history  of  his  times.  He  was  a  member  of  the 


S hatiering  : 'A merican  1  deals 


35 


Ohio  Legislature  at  the  age  of  25 ;  Colonel  of  an  Ohio  regi¬ 
ment  under  General  Hull  in  1812;  was  made  Brigadier- 
General  in  1813,  and  served  as  aide  to  General  Harrison  at 
the  battle  of  the  Thames  ;  was  Governor  of  Michigan  Ter¬ 
ritory  and  negotiated  nineteen  treaties  with  Indian  tribes; 
explored  the  upper  Mississippi ;  and  was  Secretary  of  War 
under  President  Jackson.  From  1836  to  1842  lie  was 
United  States  Minister  to  France,  and  United  States  Sen¬ 
ator  from  1845  to  1848,  when  he  was  defeated  as  the  nom¬ 
inee  of  the  Democratic  party  for  the  Presidency.  He  was 
made  Secretary  of  State  by  President  Buchanan,  but  re- 
*  signed  when  the  President  refused  to  reinforce  the  garrison 
at  Fort  Sumter. 

“Winfield  Scott,  a  wholly  absurd  and  flatulent  person¬ 
age/’  as  President  Roosevelt  refers  to  him,  served  his  coun¬ 
try  in  the  War  of  1812,  in  which  he  rose  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General;  subdued  the  Creeks  and  Seminoles  and 
took  part  in  other  Indian  wars  ;  promoted  to  Commander- 
in-Chief,  he  directed  in  person  the  war  in  Mexico  and 
brought  it  to  a  successful  conclusion  in  six  months/,  was  the 
candidate  of  the  Whig  party  for  President  in  1852;  retired 
from  the  service,  November,  1861.  “Upon  the  occasion  of 
his  retirement,”  says  Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  United 
States  History,  Vol.  VIII,  page  99,  “President  Lincoln  and 
the  entire  Cabinet  waited  upon  him  in  a  body  to  pay  their 
respects  to  one  who  had  rendered  notable  service  to  his 

country.”  — - 

Timothy  Pickering  Accused  of  Treason. 

“Timothy  Pickering  showed  eager  desire  to  stand  by  an¬ 
other  country,  to  the  hurt. of  his  own  country's  honor,  and 
Timothy  Pickering  was  a  United  States  Senator  whose  con¬ 
duct  was  far  more  reprehensible  than  that  of  any  private 
individual  could  be.” — Roosevelt  on  “Civilization  and  De¬ 
cay,”  in  the  Forum,  January,  1897. 

Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  United  States  History,  Vol. 
VII,  pages  200  and  20 1,  says: 


36  Rodsevelt ,  Historian 

“Timothy  Pickering,  statesman,  born  in  Salem, 

July  17,  1745;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1763,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1768.  He  was  the  leader  of  the 
Essex  Whigs  in  the  controversy  preceding  the  Revoution- 
ary  War;  was  on  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  and 
wrote  and  delivered  the  address  of  the  people  of  Salem  to 
Governor  Gage  on  the  occasion  of  the  Boston  port  bill  in 
1774.  The  first  armed  resistance  to  British  troops  was  .by 
Pickering  as  Colonel  of  lr.Ttia,  in  February.  1775,  at  Salem, 
where  the  soldiers  were  trying  to  seize  military  stores.  He 
was  a  judge  in  1775,  al1-d  m  the  fall  of  1776  joined  Wash¬ 
ington  in  New  Jersey  with  his  regiment  of  700  men.  In 
May,  1777,  he  was  appointed  Adjutant-General  of  the  army, 
and  after  he  had  participated  in  the  battles  of  Brandywine 
and  Germantown  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  War.  He  succeeded  Greene  as  Quartermaster-General 
in  August,  1780,  and  after  the  war  he  resided  in  Philadel¬ 
phia.  In  1786  he  was  sent  to  the  Wyoming  settlement  to 
adjust  difficulties  there,  where  he  was  personally  abused, 
imprisoned  and  put  in  jeopardy  of  his  life.  He  was  an 
earnest  advocate  of  the  National  Constitution,  and  suc¬ 
ceeded  Osgood  as  United  States  Postmaster-General.  In 
t  794-95  he  was  Secretary  of  War,  and  from  1795  to  1800 
Secretary  of  State.  Pickering  left  office  poor,  and.  settling 
on  some  wild  land  in  Pennsylvania,  lived  there  with  his 
family  in  a  hut,  but  the  liberality  of  friends  enabled  him  to 
return  to  Salem  in  1801.  He  was  made  Chief  Judge  of  the 
Essex  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  1802;  was  United 
States  Senator  from  1803  to  1811  ;  and  then  was  made  a 
member  of  the  council.  During  the  War  of  1812  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  War,  and  from  1815 
to  1817  of  Congress.”  _ 

Chief  Justice  Ellsworth  Branded  with  Infamy. 

“Oliver  Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut,  whose  name  should  be 
branded  with  infamy  because  of  the  words  he  uttered.” — 
Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  page  160. 


t 


Shattering  'American  • Ideals 


37 


All  other  American  historians  praise  Chief  Justice  Ells¬ 
worth.  The  Encyclopedia  Britaimica  says  of  him  :  ‘‘Presi¬ 
dent  Washington  appointed  Ellsworth  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  1796.  By  his  dignity,  impartiality,  and 
firmness,  as  well  as  his  ability  and  learning,  he  proved  him¬ 
self  worthy  of  this  commission.  His  opinions  were  concise 
and  were  noted  for  their  cogency  of  reasoning.  He  died  at 
Windsor*  Connecticut,  Nov.  20,  1807.  Throughout  his 
career  he  was  noted  for  his  high  moral  and  religious  char¬ 
acter  as  well  as  his  intellectual  force  and  wisdom  in  the 
conduct  of  affairs,” 


Henry  Clay  Censured. 

“The  blame  that  attaches  to  Madison  and  the  elder  Dem¬ 
ocratic  leaders,  as  well  as  to  their  younger  associates,  Clay. 
Calhoun  and  the  rest  who  fairly  flogg'ed  them  into  action 
relates  to  their  utter  failure  to  make  any  preparation  for  the 
contest,  to  their  helpless  inability  to  carry  it  on,  and  to  the 
extraordinary  weakness  and  indecision  of  their  policy 
throughout  and  on  all  these  points  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
visit  them  with  too  unsparing  censure." — Roosevelt’s  “Life 
of  G.  Morris,”  page  351. 

“Henry  Clay  throughout  his  career  was  devoted  to  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  as  the  only  safe  guide  of  liberty 
and  popular  government  and  to  protective  tariff  for  the 
maintenance  of  national  independence.” — Encyclopedia 
Britaimica.  His  contests  with  Calhbun  were  memorable 
and  by  his  masterly  art  as  the  great  compromiser  he  secured 
assents  of  Calhoun  himself  and  thus  diverted  threatened 
disunion.  Clay  always  advocated  the  thoroughly  American 
policy  of  President  Monroe.  It  is  quite  true,  as  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  states  that  Calhoun  favored  war  with  Great  Britain. 
Indeed,  he  was  active  in  pressing  Madison  to  make  a  dec¬ 
laration  of  war,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  charge  him 
with  laxity  in  preparation  for  that  war,  nor  for  failure  in 
doing  as  a  member  of  Congress  in  supporting  the  adminis- 


Roosevelt,  Historian 


tration  in  its  successful  conduct  of  that  war.  He  made  an 
admirable  Secretary  of  War  during  the  eight  years  Monroe 
was  President.  His  sincerity,  honesty,  perserverance  and 
ability  as  a  statesman  can  not  be  questioned. 

Harvard's  President  Cense  red. 

.  “It  is  not  a  nice  thing  that  Mr.  Eliot,  the  President  of 
one  of  the  greatest  educational  institutions  in  the  land, 
should,  reflect  discredit  upon  educated  men  of  the '  country 
by  his  attitude  on  the  Venezuela  question,  carrying  his  de¬ 
sertion  of  American  principles  so  far  as  to  find  himself  left 
in  the  lurch  by  the  very  English  statesmen  whose  cause  he 
was  championing.’ 5 — Theodore  Roosevelt  on  “Civilization 
and  Decay,”  in  the  Forum  for  January,  1807. 

Mr.  Eliot  has  been  president  of  Harvard  since  1869  and 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  greatest  living  au thorites  on 
educational  and  economic  subjects.  His  devotion  to  Amer¬ 
ican  principles  has  never  been  questioned  by  auy^  one  except 
Theodore  Roosevelt.  _ 

Tom  Paine,  “A  Filthy  Little  Atheist.” 

I11  his  Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  page  288,  President 
Roosevelt  refers  to  Thomas  Paine  as  “a  filthy  little  atheist.” 

Six  illustrious  men  who  were  contemporaries  of  Paine 
were  afterward  Presidents  of  the  United  States.  They  were 
George  Washington,  John  Adams.  Thomas  •  Jefferson, 
James  Madison,  James  Monroe  and  Andrew  Jackson,  and 
each  of  them  has  contributed  eulogies  to  Paine  for  his 
glorious  work  iy  behalf  of  American  independence.  He 
has  been  justly  termed  the  author-hero  of  the  Revolution 
and  his  pen  was  the  first  to  write  the  words  “United  States 
of  America.” 

Rev.  Moncure  D.  Conway  writes :  “Thomas  Paine  was  a 
devout  believer  in  God  and  immortality*  and  died  with  the 
expressions  of  that  faith  on  his  lips.  All  efforts  to  stain 
the  good  name  of  Thomas  Paine  have  recoiled  oii  those 


Shattering  American  Ideals  39 

who  make  them,  like  poisoned  arrows  shot  against  a  strong 
wind.  In  his  life,  in  his  justice,  in  his  truth,  in  his  adher¬ 
ence  to  high  principles,  in  his  disinterestedness,  I  look  in 
vain  for  a  parallel  in  those  times  or  in  these  times/’ 

Rev,  David  Swing,  one  of  the  most  noted  divines  of  the 
last  generation,  said :  “Paine  was  one  of  the  best  and  grand¬ 
est  men  that  ever  trod  this  planet." 

Rev.  Theodore  Parker  wrote:  "‘Paine’s  instincts  were 
human  and  elevated  and  his  life  devoted  mainly  to  the  great 
purposes  of  humanity,  I  think  he  did  more  to  promote  piety 
and  morality  among  men  than  a  hundred  ministers  of  that 
age  in  America/’ 

Thomas  Jefferson,  after  eulogizing  Paine,  says:  “No 
writer  exceeded  him  in  ease  and  familiarity  of  style,  in 
perspicuity  of  expression,  happiness  of  elucidation  and  in 
simple  and  unassuming  language.” 

Andrew  Jackson  said:  “Thomas  Paine  needs  110  monu¬ 
ment  made  by  hands.  He  has  erected  himself  a  monument 
in  the  hearts  of  all  lovers  of  liberty.  The  ‘Rights  of  Man’ 
will  be  more  enduring  than  all  the  piles  of  marble  and 
granite  man  can  erect.” 

James  Monroe  wrote  to  Paine  :  “It  is  not  necessary  for 
me  to  tell  you  how  much  all  your  countrymen— I  speak  of 
the  great  mass  of  the  people — are  interested  in  your  welfare. 
They  have  not  forgotten  the  history  of  their  own  revolution 
and  the  difficult  scenes  through  which  they  have  passed,  nor 
do  they  review  its  several  stages  without  reviewing  in  their 
bosoms  a  due' sensibility  of  the  merits  of  those  who  served 
them  in  that  great  and  arduous  conflict.  The  crime  of  in¬ 
gratitude  has  not  yet  stained  and  hope  never  will  stain  our 
national  character.  You  are  considered  by  them  not  only  a*s 
having  rendered  important  services  in  our  revolution,  but 
as  being,  on  a  more  extensive  scale,  the  friend  of  human 
rights  and  a  distinguished  and  able  advocate  in  favor  of 
public  liberty.  To  the  welfare  of  Thomas  Paine,  the  Amer¬ 
ican^  arc  not  nor  can  they  be  indifferent/’ 


40 


Roosevelt 3  Historian 


It  has  been  truly  said  that:  “With  Paine’s  name  left  out. 
the  history  of  liberty  can  not  be  written."  By  casual  investi¬ 
gation,  Mr.  Roosevelt  could  have  learned  that  Paine  was  not 
an  atheist,  but  a  Deist,  as  were  Washington,  Jefferson, 
Franklin  and  Lincoln.  The  testimony  of  some  of  the  great¬ 
est  men  this  nation  lias  produced  is  unanimous  on  the  point 
that  Paine  was  neither  “little”  nor  “filthy.” 

Harrison  Gray  Otis  as  Bad  as  Morris. 

* 

After  describing  the  alleged  treasonable  conduct  of  Gou- 
verneur  Morris  in  strongest  terms  of  condemnation,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  says  that  “Harrison  Gray  Otis  was  almost  as  bad 
as  Morris  himself,” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  page 
353- 

Harper’s  Encyclopedia  of  United  States  History,  Vol. 
VII,  page  46,  says  :  . » 

“Harrison  Gray  Otis,  statesman,  was  born  in  Boston, 
October  8.  1765.  graduated  at  Harvard  University  in  *783, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1786,  where  his  fine  oratory 
and  varied  acquirements  soon  gained  him  much  fame.  In 
the  suppression  of  .  Shay's  rebellion,  he  was  aide  to  Gen. 
Brooks;  served  in  the  Massachusetts  legislature:  was  a 
member  of  Congress  from  1797  to  1801 :  United  .States  Dis¬ 
trict  Attorney  in  1801  :  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  from  1803 
to  1805;  president  of  the  State  Senate  from  1805  to  1811  ; 
judge  of  the  common  pleas  from  1814  to  1818;  and  Mayor 
of  Boston  from  1829  to  1832.  In  1829  he  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Hartford  convention  and  wrote  a  series  of 
letters  upon  it.  In  1804  he  pronounced  an  eloquent  eulogy 
upon  General  Hamilton.  Many  of  his  occasional  addresses 
have  been  published.  He  died  in  Boston  in  1848.” 

Benton  Right  and  Benton  Wrong. 

“Benton  was  such  a  firm  believer  in  hard  money  and  a 
currency  of  gold  and  silver  as  to  have  received  the  nickname 
ul  ‘Old  Bullion"  and  his  followers  were  called  ‘liards,’  his 


Shattering  American  Ideals  41 

opponents  were  soft  money  men,  in  addition  to  being  seces¬ 
sionists  and  pro-slavery  fanatics,  and  took  the  name  of 
‘softs. *  The  principles  of  the  Bentonians  were^ight,  and 
those  of  their  opponents  wrong.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of 
Benton,”  page  342. 

“The  financial  theories  of  Jackson  and  Benton  were  crude 
and  vicious,  it  is  true,  but  Webster,  Clay  and  most  other* 
public  men  of  the  day  seem  to  have  held  ideas  on  the  subject 
that  were  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  mischievous.” — Roosevelt’s 
“Life  of  Benton/’  page  200. 


Two  Views  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison. 

:  “The  disunion  movement  among  the  Northern  Abolition¬ 
ists,  headed  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  was,  perhaps,  the 
most  absolutely  senseless  of  all,  for  its  success  meant  the  im¬ 
mediate  abandonment  of  every  hope  of  abolition.” — Roose¬ 
velt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  page  359. 

Lossing’s  Encyclopedia  of  History,  Vol.  I,  page  561,  says: 

“Mr.  Garrison  in  all  his  writings  showed  a  philanthropic 
spirit,  and  a  sympathy  for  the  oppressed  everywhere.  He 
founded  the  American  anti-slavery  society  in  1832  and  was 
its:  president  from  that  time  until  1865.  ‘  In  1866  he  received 
about  thirty  thousand  dollars  as  a  national  testimonial  from 
his  friends  for  his  arduous  labors  in  the  cause  of  humanity.” 

Wendell  Phillips  a  Mischief  Maker. 

“When  Wendell  Phillips  denounced  Abraham  Lincoln  as 
the  slave  hound  of  Illinois,  he  did  not  show  himself  more 
virtuous  than  Lincoln,  but  more  foolish,  neither  did  he  ad¬ 
vance  the  cause  of  human  freedom.” — Roosvelt’s  “Strenu¬ 
ous  Life,”  page  50. 

“After  the  war,  and  until  the  day  of  his  death  his  (Wen¬ 
dell  Phillips)  position  on  almost  every  public  question  was 
either  lqischievous  or  ridiculous,  and  usually  both.” — Roose¬ 
velt’s  “Life  of  Benton/’  page  160. 


42 


Roosevelt ,  Historian 


Abolitionists  Severely  Arraigned. 

“If  the  Constitution  had  made  such  a  declaration,  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  all  the  States,  it  would  never  have 
been  adopted,  and  the  English  speaking  people  of  North 
America  would  have  plunged  into  a  condition  of  anarchy ; 
*  *  *  while  if  the  Republican  platform  of  i860  had  taken 
such  a  position,  Lincoln  would  not  have  been  elected,  no  war 
for  the  Union  would  have  been  waged,  and  instead  of  slav¬ 
ery  being  abolished  it  would  have  been  perpetuated  in  at 
least  one  of  the  confederacies  into  which  the  country  would 
have  been  split.”— Roosevelt's  “Life  of  Cromwell,"  page 
!93* 

“The  assembly  of  Puritan  notables  was  no  more  com¬ 
petent  to  initiate  successful  self-government  in  .England, 
than  a  congress  of  Abolitionists  in  i860  would  have  been 
competent  to  govern  the  United  States." — Roosevelt's  “Life 
of  Cromwell.”  page  192. 

Burr’s  Trial  and  Wilkinson’s  Ignominy. 

“Burr  was  put  on  trial  for  high  treason,  with  Wilkinson 
as  States’  evidence.  Jefferson  made  himself  the  especial 
champion  of  Wilkinson;  nevertheless  the  General  cut  a 
contemptible  figure  at  the  trial,  for  no  explanation  could 
make  his  course  square  and  honorable  dealing.  Wilkinson, 
the  double  traitor,  the  bribe  taker,  the  corrupt  servant  of  a 
foreign  government,  remained  at  the  head  of  the  American 
Army.” — Roosevelt’s  “Winning  of  the  West,”  Part  VI, 
page  238. 

Excepting  alone  in  his  unfair  treatment  of  the  great  states¬ 
man,  patriot  and  President,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Historian 
Roosevelt  has  made  no  greater  illustration  of  his  warped 
mind  and  narrow  prejudices  than  he  has  in  considering  the 
conduct  of  Aaron  Burr  and  General  James  Wilkinson,  es¬ 
pecially , the  latter.  A  great  portion  of  Part  VI  of  his  preten¬ 
tious  work  “Winning  of  the  West”  is  made  up  of  abuse  for 


'Shattering  American  Ideals  43 

General  Wilkinson. ,  He  is  accused  of  all.  manner  of  crimes 
from  treason  and  murder  to  drunkenness  and  lying.  There 
is  hardly  an  offensive  term  in  our  language  hut  has  been 
used  to  apply  to  the  distinguished  soldier.  The  idle  scandal 
and  gossip  of  the  -times  have  been  eagerly  grasped  by  His¬ 
torian  Roosevelt  and  presented  to  his  readers  as  literal 
truths./  There  has  been  no  weighing  of  pros  and  cons 
habitual  with  recognized  historians,  but  on  the  contrary  our 
author  has  invariably  seized  one  side  or  the  other  with  an 
eagerness  most  remarkable/  He  fails  to  tell  his  readers  of 
Wilkinson’s  brilliancy  in  his  command  of  Wayne’s  army,  of 
his  reduction  of  Mobile  in  April,  1813,  and  of  the  fact  that 
he  was  most  honorably  acquitted  of  any  entaglement  with 
Burr.  Burr  knew  full  well  that  Wilkinson  was  determined 
to  check  his  mysterious  schemes  and  fearing  to  fall  into  his 
(Wilkinsons’s)  hands  he  disbanded  his  men.  Burr  was  a 
good  soldier,  distinguishing  himself  at  the  battle  of  Mon¬ 
mouth  in  1778  when  he  commanded  a  brigade.  He  was  a 
brilliant  statesman  and  performed  valuable  service  to  his 
country.  It  is  quite  true  he  did  enter  upon  a  mysterious  ex¬ 
pedition  in  the  West,  his  ideas,  however,  never  crystallized 
into  a  formal  rebellion  and  he  was  acquitted  of  all  the 
charges  brought  against  him  not  upon  a  mere  technicality, 
but  after  a  fairly  contested  trial  in  which  the  most  notable 
legal  talent  of  the  country  figured.  A  good  historian  is  a 
skilled  narrator  of  facts,  he  is  never  a  partisan.  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  in  his  consideration  of  all  historical  matters  shows  him¬ 
self  to  be  a  most  strenuous  partisan  a  curtailer  and  dove- 
tailer  of  facts — and  a  man  of  most  pronounced  prejudices. 

George  Gould — Then  and  Now. 

“I  have  to  say  with  shame  when  I  voted  for  this  bill  I  did 
not  act  as  I  think  I  ought  to  have  acted  and  as  I  generally 
acted  on  the  floor  of  this  House.  For  the  only  time  I  voted 
here  contrary  to  what  I  think  to  be  honestly  right  I  did  at 
that  time.  1  have  to  confess  that  I  weakly  yielded  partly 


44 


Roosevelt,  Historian 


to  a  vindictive  feeling  to  the  infernal  thieves  who  have  that 
railroad  in  charge,  and  partly  to  the  popular  voice  of  New 
York.  For  the  managers  of  the  elevated  railroads,  I  have 
as  little  feeling  as  any  man  here  and  if  it  were  possible  I 
would  be  willing  to  pass  a  bill  of  attainder  against  Jay 
Gould  and  his  associates.  I  realize  that  they  have  don^  the 
most  incalculable  harm  to  this  community — with  their  hired 
stock  jobbing  newspaper,  with  their  corruption  of  the  judi¬ 
ciary.  and  with  their  corruption"  of  this  House.  It  is  not  a 
question  of  doing  right  to  them,  for  they  are  merely  com¬ 
mon  thieves.  As  to  the  resolution,  a  petition  handed  in  by 
the  directors  of  the  company,  signed  by  Gould  and  his  son, 
I  would  pay  more  attention  to  a  petition  signed  by  Barny 
'Aaron,  Oliver  Geoghegan,  and  Billy  McGlory  than  I  would 
to  that  paper,  because  I  regard  these  men  as  part  of  an  in¬ 
finitely  dangerous  order,  the  wealthy  criminal  class/’ — From 
the  speech  by  Theodore  Roosevelt  as  quoted  by  his  bio¬ 
grapher,  W.  M.  Clemens  in  “Roosevelt,  the  American,” 
pages  38  and  39. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  petition  which  Mr. 
Roosevelt  so  vigorously  condemns  sets  forth  the  fact  that 
the  rates  of  fare  allowed  had  been  a  part  of  the  considera¬ 
tion  under  which  capital  had  ventured  into  the  enterprise 
and  that  Grover  Cleveland,  the  Governor  of  New  York,  had 
held  that  to  change  the  basis  of  the  contract  made  to  secure 
rapid  transit  would  be  a  breach  of  faith.  It  will  be  observed 
that  Mr.  Roosevelt  appeals  to  emotions  and  resorts  to  abuse 
of  his  opponents  rather  than  to  reason.  Mr.  Clemens  tells 
us  that  his  phrase  “the  wealthy  criminal  class”  caught  the 
applause  of  the  masses. 

It  is  worth  while,  too,  to  remember  that  Jay  Gould’s  son, 
so  roundly  abused  by  Mr.  Roosevelt,  is  Mr.  George  Gould, 
the  railroad  magnate.  There  is  no  record  that  Mr.  Gould 
has  changed  his  railroad  methods,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  record 
that,  he  is  now  invited  quhe  ireqr.enlly  to  dinners  at  the 
White  House  and  spends  hours  in  conference  with  President 


S flattering  ■! American  Ideals 


45 


Roosevelt,  who,  but  a  few  years  ago,  denounced  'Mr.  Goiild 
and  his  father,  “as  part  of  an  infinitely  dangerous  order,  the 
wealthy  criminal  class." 

Lincoln's  Rules  of  War. 

“The  rule's  of  warfare  which  have  been  promulgated  by 
the  War  Department  and  accepted  as  the  basis  of  conduct 
by  our  troops  in  the  field  are  the  rules  laid  down  by  Abraham 
Lincoln,  when  you  my  hearers  were  fighting  for  the  Union." 
*  *  *  “We  would  have  been  justified  by  Abraham  Lin¬ 
coln’s  rules  of  war  in  infinitely  greater  severity  than  has 
been  shown.” — Roosevelt  in  his  Decoration  Day  Address, 
May  30,.  1902. 

Lincoln  Made  No  Rules  of  War. 

.  Abraham  Lincoln’s  name  is  a  great  one  to  conjure  with, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  made  no  rules  of  war.  General 
Orders,  No.  100,  emanated  from  the  brain  of  Francis  Lieber, 
LL.  t>.  But  Lieber’s  name  would  not  inspire  applause  so 
Lincoln’s  was  used. 

General  Orders 
No.  TOO. 

War  Department, 

Adjutant-General  s  Office, 

Washington,  April  24,  1863. 

The  following  instruction  for  the  government  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States  in  the  field  prepared  by  Francis 
Lieber,  LL.  D.,  and  revised  by  a  Board  of  Officers  of  which 
Major-General  E.  A.  Hitchcock  is  president,  having  been 
approved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  lie  com¬ 
mands  that  they  be  published  for  information  of  all  con¬ 
cerned. 

E.  D.  Townsend, 

Ass’t  Adjutant-General,  U.  S.  A. 

Attention  is  also  called  to  the  fact  that  later  on  in  his  same 
address,  Mr.  Roosevelt  speaks  of  resolutions  passed  by  the 


46  Roosevelt,  Historian 

Confederate  Congress  in  October,  1862.  accusing  the  Union 
forces  of  disregard  of  the  usages  of  war.  He  implies  a  con¬ 
nection  between  this  accusation  and  Lieber’s  code,  but  fails 
to  call  attention  that  the  German,  Lieber,  did  not  have  his 
Rules  of  War  sanctioned  until  April  24,  1863,  about  six 
months  after  the  Confederate  protest. 


Militiamen  Denounced  as  Useless. 

‘There  is  hardly  another  contest  of  modern  times  where 
the  defeated  side  suffered  such  frightful  carnage  while,  the 
victors  came  off  almost  scathless.  It  is  quite  in  accordance 
with  the  rest  of  the  war  that  the  militia,  hitherto  worse  than 
useless,  should  on  this  occasion  win  in  great  odds  in  point  of 
numbers.  On  the  whole,  the  contest  by  land,  where  we  cer¬ 
tainly  ought  to  have  been  successful,  reflected  greater  credit 
on  our  antagonists  than  upon  us,  in  spite  of  the  services  of 
Scott,  Brown  and  Jackson.  Our  small  force  of  regulars  and 
volunteers  did  excellently;  as  for  the  militia,  New  Orleans 
proved  that  they  could  fight  superbly,  and  the  other  battles 
that  they  generally  would  not  fight  at  all.’’ — Roosevelt's 
“Naval  War  of  1812,”  page  10. 

The  instance  Mr.  Roosevelt  himself  cites,  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans,  wholly  defeats  the  statement  often  repeated 
by  him  in  his  naval  history  that  the  militia  was  worse  than 
useless.  It  was  not  alone  at  New  Orleans  that  our  militia 
distinguished  itself.  At  Bellair,  or  Moor’s  Fields,  Mary¬ 
land,  on  August  27,  1814,  Maryland  militia  defeated  a  con¬ 
siderably  greater,  force  of  British  marines  under  Sir  Peter 
Parker.  At  Craney  Island,  450  Virginia  militia  and  150 
sailors  defeated  2,500  trained  British  soldiers.  .  At  Lyon’s 
Creek  1,200  British,  under  the  Marquis  of  Tweedale,  were 
compelled  to  retreat  by  1,000  militiamen.  At  North  Point, 
Maryland,  5,000  British  under  General  Ross  were  success¬ 
fully  checked  by  2,300  militia  under  General  Stryker.  An 
attack  upon  American  militia  in  the  war  of  1812  is  virtually 


Shattering  %  rncriean  -  Ideals 


47 


an  attack  on  the  American  Army  for  our  forces  were  almost 
solely  composed  of  militia  and  volunteers.  The  figures  given 
here  are  from  official  sources,  compiled  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Strait 
and  published  by  the  sanction  of  the  War  and  Interior  De¬ 


partments.  - — 

lrln  accordance  with  their  curiously  foolish  theories,  the 
Democrats  persisted  on  relying  on  that  weakest  of  all  weak 
reeds,  the  militia,  who  promptly  ran  away  every  time  they: 
faced  the  foe  in  the  open.  This  applied  to  all,  whether  East¬ 
ern,  Western  or  Southern ;  the  men  of  the  Eastern  States  in 
1812-1813  did  as  badly  as,  and  no  worse  than,  the  Virgin¬ 
ians  in  1814.  Indeed,  one  of  the  good  results  of  the  war  was 
that  it  did  away  forever  with  all  reliance  on  the  old  time 
militia,  the  most  expensive  and  inefficient  species  of  soldiers 
that  could  be  invented.’'- — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,” 
page  349.  J 

f  • 


‘A  British  invasion  was  repulsed  far  more  disgracefully. 
>ir  George  Prevost,  with  an  army  of  13,000  veteran  troops, 
marched  South  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Champlain  to 
Plattsburg,  which  was  held  by  General  Macomb  with  2,000 
regulars  and  perhaps  double  that  number  of  nearly  worthless 
militia;  a  force  that  the  British  could  have  scattered  to  the 
winds,  though  as  they  were  strongly  posted,  not  without 
severe  loss.  But  the  British  fleet  was  captured  by  Commo- 


% 


*  t> 

dore  Macdonough  in  the  fight  on  me  Lakes;  and  then  Sir 

George,  after  some  heavy  skirmishing  between  the  outposts 

of  the  armies  in  which  the  Americans  had  the  advantage, 

fled  precipitately  back  to  Canada.” — Roosevelt’s  “Naval 

War  of  1812,”  Preface,  page  23.  f 


y 

iV 


“The  British  under  General  Prevost  were  defeated  by  the 
Americans  under  General  Macomb  at  Plattsburg,  New 
York,  September  n,  1814.” — Dr.  W.  A.  Strait’s  “Battles 
of  the  War  of  1812,”  from  official  sources.  Lossing  in  his 
history  gives  Prevost’s  forces  as  14,000  and  the  British  loss 
as  2,000,  while  the  American  loss  was  less  than  two  hun* 


48  Roosevelt ,  Historian 

dred,  and  he  adds:  “The  whole  .country  rang  with  the 
praises  of  Macfomb  and  Macdonough. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  as  a  Militiaman. 

'  At  the  very  time  he  was  writing  his  “Naval  War  of  1812.“ 
and  straining  facts  to  suit  his  theory  that  militia  was  worse 
than  useless  in  times  of  war,  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  a  Lieutenant 
in  the  8th  New  York  National  Guards  and  remained  a  mili¬ 
tiaman  for  more  than  four  years./  This,  indeed,  was  liis 
only  military  training  prior  to  the  war  with  Spain.  It  seems, 
too,  that  the  President  has  changed;  his  mind  about  the 
militia,  although  he  has  solemnly  recorded  himself  in  history 
as 'condemning  them.  In  an  address  at  Sea  Girt,  N.  L  ,  on 
July  24,  1902,  at  the  encampment  of  the  Second  Brigade, 
New  Jersey  National  Guards,  President  Roosevelt  said : 

“I  think  that  our  people  have  not  always  appreciated  the 
debt  they  were  under  to  the  National  Guard.  I A  man  who 
goes  into  the  guard  and  does  his  duty  fairly  and  squarely 
puts  the  whole  country  under  an  obligation  to  him.  J  Always 
in  our  history  it  has  been  the  case,  as  it  will  be  in  the  future, 
that  if  war  should  arise  it  is  to  be  met  mainly  by  the  citizen- 
soldier— the  volunteer  soldier.  We  have  in  the  regular 
army,  officered  as  it  is  and  filled  with  the  type  of  enlisted 
men  we  had  in  it,  an  a^my  which,  I  firmly  believe,  for  its 
size  is  unequaled  in  the  civilized  world,  and  I  am  sure  that 
I  can  challenge  the  most  generous  support  from  the  National 
Guard  for  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States.  But  that 
army  is,  and  of  necessity  must  be,  so  small  that  in  the  event 
of  serious  trouble  in  the  future  the  great  bulk  of  our  troops 
must  come,  as  in  the  past,  from  the  ranks  of  the  people  them¬ 
selves.  In  forming  those  regiments  the  good  done  by  the 
presence  in  them  of  men  who  have  served  faithfully  in  the 
National  Guard  cannot  be  overestimated.  Those  men  are 
ready.  They  know  what  is  expected  of  them.  They  train 
others  to  do  the  work  that  is  needed.  And  another  thing,  the 
same  qualities  that  make  a  man  a  success — that  make  him 


Shattering  American  Ideals 


49 


do  his  duty  decently  and  honestly  in  a  national  guard  regi¬ 
ment — are  fundamentlly  the  qualities  that  he  needs  to  make 
him  a  good  citizen  in  private  life.” 

An  this  is,  of  course,  very  complimentary  to  the  militia 
and  while  it  is  also  undoubtedly  true,  it  does  not  alter  the 
fact  that  the  man  who  uttered  the  compliment  is  recorded  in 
a  written  history  as  writing  the  militia  down  as  worse  than 
useless.  Mr.  Roosevelt  may  be  able  to  reconcile  his  state¬ 
ments  as  a  historian  with  his  statements  as  a  politician.  The 
task  is  too  difficult  for  the  unprejudiced  student  of  history 
and  politics./  — - - 

“Under  modern  conditions  in  a  great  civilized  state  the 
regular  army  is  composed  of  officers  who  have,  as  a  rule, 
been  carefully  trained  to  their  work.  *  *  *  So  it  is  with 
the  men  in  high  command.  The  careful  training  in  body 
and  mind  and  especially  in  character,  gained  in  an  academy 
like  West  Point,  and  the  subsequent  experience  in  the  field, 
endows  a  regular  officer  with  such  advantages,  that  in  any 
but  a  long  war,  he  cannot  be  overtaken  even  by  the  best 
natural  fighter.  In  the  American  Civil  War,  for  instance, 
the  greatest  leaders  were  all  West  Pointers.” — Roosevelt's 
“Life  of  Cromwell."  page  65. 

“Leonard  Wood  four  years  ago  went  to  Cuba,  has  served 
there  ever  since,  has  rendered  services  to  that  country  of  the 
kind  which  if  performed  three  thousand  years  ago,  would 
have  made  him  a  hero  mixed  up  with  the  Sun  God  in  various 
ways,." — Theodore  Roosevelt,  University  Commencement  at 
Harvard,  June  5,  1903. 


Roosevelt's  Treatment  of  General  Miles. 

“All  honor  to  the  volunteer,  but  let  us  now.  in  time  of 
peace  remember  our  debt  to  -the  men  of  the  regular  army. 
\\  e  have  spoken  of  what  General  Miles  did  in  the  Civil  War 
when  General  Grant  faced  Lee.  Now.  thank  Heaven,  we  can 
be  glad  and  proud  of  the  valor  of  the  men  who  followed 
Grant  and  the  men  who  followed  Lee.  Remember  for  thirtv- 


5° 


R o os ev H i'stoH&n 


three  years  since  that  time  the  soldiers  of  the  regular  army 
have  uncomplainingly,  without  expectation  of  praise  or 
notice  faced  discomfort,  danger  and  death  wajring  against 
the  Indians  on  oiir  frontier  and  reclaiming  a  new  country 
from  the  waste.  In  General  Miles'  the  hero  of  the  civil 
war,  do  not  forget  General  Miles,  the  hero  of  the  long  weary 
campaigns  against  the  Sioux,  the  Cheyennes  and  the  Black- 
feet.  And  do  not  forget  the  men  with  him  who  had  to.  face 
Arctic  cold  a  heat  worse  than  tropics,  hunger  and  thirst  and 
the  crudest  of  foes  and  all  this  without  hope  of  reward  other 
than  the  knowledge  that  they  were  serving  the  nation  and 
•upholding  the  flag.  That' s  the  regular  army ;  that’s  the  sort 
of  thing  they  have  been  doing  all  these  years.  I  wish  that 
you  could  realize  the  bravery,  devotion,  and  endurance  of 
pain  and  peril  of  the  American  regular  officer  and  of  the 
American  regular  soldier.” — -From  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  speech 
at  a  banquet  in  New  York  City  in  1898,  as  quoted  by  W.  M. 
Clemens  in  “Roosevelt,  the  American.” 

General  Miles  was  personally  rebuked  by  President 
Roosevelt  on  account  of  his  telling  the  truth  about  condi¬ 
tions  in  the  Philippines,  in  a  report  of  inspection,  and  was 
in  such  disfavor  with  the  administration  that  he  was  treated 
with  the  utmost  discourtesy.  On  his  retirement  the  custom 
of  reviewing  the  record  of  services  was  departed  from  in  his 
case  and  he  was-relieved  from  active  service  in  the  following 
curt  order : 

“August  8,  1 90^. 

“By  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  retirement 
from  active  service  by  the  President,  August  8,  1903,  of 
Lieut. -General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  United  States  Army,  by 
operation  of  the  law,  under  provisions  of  the  act  of  Con¬ 
gress,  approved  June  30,  1903,  is  announced.  Lieutenant- 
General  Miles  will  proceed  to  his  home.  The  travel  en¬ 
joined  is  necessary  for  the  public  service. 

“By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 

(Signed)  “H.  C.  Corbin, 

“Adjutant-General.” 


Shattering  American  Ideals-  51 

•  Cowboys  Better  Than  Farmers  or  Mechanics. 

“When  drunk  on  villainous  whiskey  of  the  frontier  towns 
they  (the  cowboys)  cut  mad  antics,  riding  their  horses  into 
the  saloons,  firing  their  pistols  right  and  left,  from  boister¬ 
ous  light-heartedness  rather  than  from  any  viciousness,  and 
indulging  too  often  in  deadly  shooting  affrays,  brought  on 
either  by  the  incidental  contact  of  the  moment  or  bv  some 
long-standing  grudge,  or  perhaps  because  of  bad  blood  be¬ 
tween  two  ranches  or  localities;  but  except  while  on  sprees, 
they  are  quiet,  rather  self-contained  men,  perfectly  frank  and 
simple  and  on  their  own  ground  treat  a  stranger  with  most 
wholesome  hospitality,  doing  all  in  their  power  for  him  and 
scorning  to  take  any  reward  in  return.  Although  prompt  to 
resent  an  injury,  they  are  not  at  all  apt  to  be  rude  to  outsid¬ 
ers,  treating  them  with  what  almost  can  be  called  grave 
courtesy.  They  are  much  better  fellows  and  pleasanter  com¬ 
panions  than  small  farmers  or  agriculture  laborers ;  nor  are 
mechanics  and  workmen  of  a  great  city  to  be  mentioned  in 
the  same  breath.” — Roosevelt’s  “Ranch  Life  and  Hunting 

Trail,”  page  10.  - 

Quakers  Hypocritical.  Selfish  and  Cruel. 

“It  is  a  bitter  and  unanswerable  commentary  on  the  work¬ 
ings  of  a  non-resistant  creed  that  such  outrages  and  mass¬ 
acres  as  those  committed  on  the  helpless  Indians  were  more 
numerous  in  the  colony  the  Quakers  governed  than  in  any 
other;  their. vaunted  policy  of  peace  *  *  *  caused  the 

utmost  possible  evil  *  *  *  their  system  was  a  direct 

incentive  to  crime  and  wrong  doing.  Xo  other  colony  made 
such  futile,  contemptible  efforts  to  deal  with  the  Indians;  no 
other  colony  showed  such  supine,  selfish  helplessness.” — • 
Roosevelt’s  “Winning  of  the  West,"  Vol.  I,  page  98. 

Quakers  Righteous,  Peaceful  and  Virtuous. 

“I  understand  that  this  community  is  composed  largely  of 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  stand  for  social  and 


52 


Roosevelt]  Histo'ridri 


industrial  virtue  in  a  way  that  entitles  them  to  the  respect  of 
all  people.  That  the  virtues  and  righteousness  which  they 
practice  are  the  foundation  of  good  government  cannot  be 
denied  and  without  them  we  would  have  never  been  able  to 
make  the  Republic  what  it  is  and  what  it  must  be.  *  *  ’  * 
It  is  impossible  yet,  for  we  have  not  advanced  far  enough  to 
settle  all  difficulties  peaceably  by  arbitration;  but  in  every 
case  we  should  avoid  appeals  to  arms  where  possible,  for  we 
as  a  party  are  pledged  to  peaceful  settlement  until  war  be¬ 
comes  a  last  resort.” — From  an  address  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  at 
Plainfield,  N.  J.,  1900. 

Original  Pennsylvania^  Were  a  Bail  Lot. 

“Pennsylvania  politics  were  already  low.  The  leaders 
who  had  taken  control  were  men  of  mean  capacity  and  small 
morality,  and  the  State  was  not  only  becoming  Democratic, 
but  was  also  drifting  along  in  a  disorganized,  pseudo-Jaco- 
binical,  half  insurrectionary  kind  of  a  way  that  would  have 
boded  evil  for  its  future  if  it  had  not  been  fettered  by  the 
presence  of  healthier  communities  about  it.” — Roosevelt's 
“Life  of  G.  Morris,”  page  324. 

Scotch  and  Irish  Natural  Savages. 

“Scotland  and  Ireland,  when  independent,  were  nests  of 
savages.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  G.  Morris,”  page  132. 


Folly  to  Loan  Money  in  Kansas  and  Far  Western 

States. 

“As  for  the  debtors  being  powerless,  if  Mr.  Adams  knows 
any  persons  who  have  lent  money  in  Kansas  or  similar  States 
they  will  speedily  enlighten  him  on  this  subject,  and  will 
give  him  an  exact  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  debtor  is 
servant  of  the  creditor.  In  these  States  the  creditor — and 
especially  the  Eastern  money-lender,  or  ‘gold  bug' — is  the 
man  who  has  lost  all  his  money.  Mr.  Adams  can  easily  find 
this  out  by  the  simple  endeavor  to  persuade  some  ‘money 


Shattering  A  merican .  Ideals 


53 


lender’  or  other  ‘Wall  street  shark’  to  go  into  the  business  of 
lending  money  on  Far-Western  farm  property.” — Roose¬ 
velt’s  “American  Ideals.”  page  348. 

There  were  many  foreclosures  of  mortagages  in  Kansas 
and  some  of  the  Western  States,  following  the  panic  of  1893, 
but  Mr.  Roosevelt  should  know  that  no  section  of  the 
country  has  so  nobly  met  its  obligations.  The  debts  have 
been  paid,  dollar  for  dollar,  and  in  many  cases  at  usurious 
rates  of  interest,  and  there  has  never  been  any  thought  of 
repudiation  of  just  obligations.  Every  trust  company  in  the 
country  is  bidding  for  mortgages  on  these  Kansas  and  West¬ 
ern  farms,  which  go  down  into  one  of  Mr.  Roosevelt’s 
famous  histories  as  the  burial  grounds  of  Eastern  capital. 
Kansas  banks  had  more  than  $100,000,000  on  deposit  on 
September  1,  1904. 


54 


Roosevelt ;  Historian 


Contradictory  Views  on  the  Tariff. 

*‘In  1828,,  the  tariff,  whether  it  benefited  the  country  as  a 
whole  or  not,  unquestionably  harmed  the  South;  and  in  a 
Federal  Union  it  is  most  unwise  to  pass  laws  which  shall 
benefit  one  part  of  the  country  to  the  hurt  of  another  part, 
when  the  latter  receives  no  compensation.  The  truculent 
and  unyielding  attitude  of  the  extreme  protectionists  was  ir¬ 
ritating  in  the  extreme :  for  cooler  men  than  the  South  Car¬ 
olinians  might  well  have  been  exasperated  at  such  an  utter¬ 
ance  as  that  of  Henry  Clay,  when  he  stated  for  the  sake  of 
the  American  system — by  which  title  he  was  fond  of  styling 
a  doctrine  already  ancient  in  medieval  times — he  would 
'defy  the  South,  the  President  and  the  devil/  ” — Roosevelt's 
“Life  of  Benton/'  page  90.  “The  nullification  movement  in 
South  Carolina  was  immediately  caused  by  the  tariff.” — The 
same,  page  88. 

“Clay’s  assertions  as  to  what  the  tariff  had  done  for  the 
West  were  ill-founded,  as  Benton  showed  in  a  good  speech, 
wherein  he  described  picturesquely  enough  the  industries 
and  general  condition  of  the  country,  and  asserted  with  truth 
that  its  revived  prosperity  was  due  to  its  own  resources,  en¬ 
tirely  independent  of  Federal  aid  or  legislation.  He  said: 
T  do  not  think  we  are  indebted  to  the  high  tariff  for  our 
fertile  lands  and  our  navigable  rivers ;  and  I  am  certain  we 
are  indebted  to  these  blessings  for  the  prosperity  we  enjoy/  ” 
— Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,'’  page  91. 

“Political  economists  have  pretty  generally  agreed  that 
protection  is  vicious  in  theory  and  harmful  in  practice;  but 
if  the  majority  of  the  people  in  interest  wish  it,  and  it  affects 
only  themselves,  there  is  no  earthly  reason  why  they  should 
not  be  allowed  to  try  the  experiment  to  their  hearts’  content. 
The  trouble  is  that  it  rarely  does  affect  only  themselves ;  and 
in  1828  the  evil  was  peculiarly  aggravated  on  account  of  the 
unequal  way  in  which  the  proposed  law  would  affect  differ¬ 
ent  sections.  It  purported  to  benefit  the  rest  of  the  country, 


’Shattering  American  Ideals  55 

but  it  undoubtedly  worked  real  injury  to  the  planter  States 
and  there  is  small  ground  for  wonder  that'  the  irritation  over 
it  should  have  been  intense.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,” 
page  67. 

“There  is  general  acquiescence  in  our  present  tariff  sys¬ 
tem  as  a  national  policy.  The  first  requisite  to  our  pros¬ 
perity  is  the  continuity  and  stability  of  this  economic  policy. 
Nothing  could  be  more  unwise  than  to  disturb  the  business 
interests  of  the  country  by  any  general  tariff  change  at  this 
time.  Doubt,  apprehension,  uncertainty  are  exactly  what 
we  most  wish  to  avoid  in  the  interest  of  our  commercial  and 
material  well-being." — 'President  Roosevelt's  message  to 
Fifty-seventh  Congress. 

“That  whenever  the  need  arises  there  should  be  a  re¬ 
adjustment  of  the  tariff  schedules  is  undoubted:  but  such 
changes  can  with  safety  be  made  only  by  those  whose  devo¬ 
tion  to  the  principle  of  a  protective  tariff  is  beyond  question ; 
for  otherwise  the  changes  would  amount  not  to  readjust¬ 
ment  but  to  repeal.  The  readjustment  when  made  must 
maintain  and  not  destroy  the  protective  principle.” — Presi¬ 
dent  Roosevelt's  speech  of  acceptance,  July  27,  1904. 

* 

Change  of  Views  on  Reciprocity. 

In  his  speech  accepting  the  Republican  convention’s  nomi¬ 
nation  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  at  Oyster 
Bay  on  July  27.  1904,  President  Roosevelt  declared  his  posi¬ 
tion  on  reciprocity  to  be  as  follows: 

“We  believe  in  reciprocity  with  foreign  nations  on  the 
terms  outlined  in  President  McKinley’s  last  speech,  which 
urged  the  extension  of  our  foreign  markets  by  reciprocal 
agreements  whenever  they  could  be  made  without  injury  to 
American  industry  and  labor.” 

This  utterance  is  significant,  as  showing  the  changed  at¬ 
titude  of  the  President,  probably  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
into  more  complete  accord  the  beneficiaries  of  the  high  pro¬ 
tective  tariff  policy,  when  contrasted  with  discussion  of 


56  "Roosevelt,  Historian 

reciprocity  in  his  second  annual  message  to  Congress,  on 
December  2,  1902.  In  that  message,  President  Roosevelt 
said: 

“One  way  in  which  the  readjustment  sought  [readjust¬ 
ment  of  the  tariff  to  new  conditions  and  national  needs]  can 
be  reached  is  by  reciprocity  treaties.  It  is  greatly  to  be  de¬ 
sired  that  such  treaties  may  be  adopted.  They  can  be  used 
to  widen  our  markets  and  to  give  greater  field  for  the  activ¬ 
ities  of  our  producers  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other 
hand  to  secure  in  practical  shape  the  lowering  of  duties 
when  they  are  no  longer  needed  for  protection  among  our 
own  people,  or  when  the  minimum  of  damage  done  may  he 
disregarded  for  the  sake  of  the  maximum  of  good  accom¬ 
plished.” 

In  view  of  such  utterances  it  would  seem  necessary  for  the 
President  to  explain  wrhat  he  means  by  his  oft-repeated  as¬ 
sertion  that  he  is  pursuing  the  tariff  and  reciprocity  policies 
of  President  McKinley,  whose  last  public  address,  at  Buf¬ 
falo,  wras  a  plea  for  the  broader  reciprocity,  an  increase  of  the 
benefits  to  a  greater  number  even  at  the  expense  of  slight 
loss  or  injury  to  the  few.  President  Roosevelt  stated  in 
December,  1902,  a  reciprocity  policy  that  was  in  accord  with 
that  of  Major  McKinley.  In  July,  1904,  he  declares  for  the 
empty,  meaningless  reciprocity  plan  exploited  by  the  bene¬ 
ficiaries  of  the  tariff  nurtured  trusts. 

‘‘Big  Stick”  Policy  Proclaimed. 

“This  doctrine  (The  Monroe  Doctrine)  has- nothing  to  do 
with  the  commercial  relations  of  any  American  power,  save 
that  in  truth  it  allovrs  each  of  them  to  form  such  as  it  desires. 
In  other  words,  it  is  really  a  guaranty  of  the  commercial 
independence  of  the  Americas.  We  do  not  ask  under  this 
doctrine  for  any  exclusive  commercial  dealings  with  any 
other  American  state.  We  do  not  guarantee  any  state 
against  punishment  if  it  misconducts  itself,  provided  that 
punishment  doss  not  take  the  form  of  the  acquisition  of  ter- 


Shattering  American  Ideals  57 

ritory  by  any  non- American  power.” — President  Roosevelt’s 
message  to  the  first  session  of  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress, 

December  3.  1901. 

“All  that  we  desire  is  to  see  all  neighboring  countries 
(Cuba  and  South  American  Countries)  stable,  orderly  and 
prosperous.  If  a  nation  shows  that  it  knows  how  to  act  with 
decency  in  industrial  and  political  matters,  if  it  keeps  order 
and  pays  its  obligations,  then  it  need  fear  no  interference 
from  the  United  States.  Brutal  wrong-doing,  or  an  impo¬ 
tence  wjiich  results  in  a  general  loosening  of  the  ties  of 
civilized  society,  may  finally  require  intervention  by  some 
civilized  nation,  and  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  the  United 
States  cannot  ignore  its  duty ;  but  it  remains  true  that  our 
interests  and  those  of  our  southern  neighbors  are  in  reality 
identical.  All  that  we  ask  is  that  they  shall  govern  them¬ 
selves  well  and  be  prosperous  and  orderly.  Where  this  is 
the  case  they  will  receive  only  helpfulness  from  us.” — From 
President  Roosevelt’s  letter  to  banquet  in  honor  of  second 
anniversary  of  Cuban  Independence,  held  at  the  Waldorf- 
Astoria  Hotel,  New  York,  May  20,  1904. 

Roosevelt  on  Pernicious  Pension  Legislation. 

“Benton’s  speech  (against  French  spoliation  claims) 
would  not  be  bad  reading  for  some  of  the  pension-grabbing 
Congressmen  of  the  present  day  and  their  supporters  ;  but 
as  concerns  these  French  claims  he  could  have  been  easily 
answered.  In  regard  to  the  pension  matter.  Benton  showed 
that  he  would  not  let  himself,  by  any  specious  plea  of  ex¬ 
ceptional  suffering  or  need  for  charity,  be  led  into  vicious 
special  legislation,  sure  in  the  end  to  bring  about  the  break¬ 
ing  down  of  some  of  the  most  important  principles  of  gov¬ 
ernment.’^ — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,”  pages  149-J58. 

Mr.  Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton”  was  written  in  1887, 
when  he  was  not  in  a  position  in  which  special  pension  legis¬ 
lation  could  be  used  as  a  political  agency.  In  the  present 
year  of  190.4  he  has  by  executive  order  created  pension  legis- 


5 8  Roosevelt,  Historian  ' 

Iation  that  means  an  annual  additional  outlay  of  at  least 
$50,000,000  for  veterans  of  the  civil  war  who  have  reached 
the  age  of  70  years,  regardless  of  their  financial  or  physical 
condition.  He  has  not  even  consulted  the  Congress  in  the 
matter,  hut  has  taken  the  law  into  his  own  hands.  No  ad¬ 
ministration  since  the  Civil  War  has  been  marked  by  such 
reckless  extravagance  in  pension  matters  and  by  the  resort 
to  special  legislation,  such  as  he  commended  Mr.  Benton  for 
denouncing.  There  is  no  record  that  he  has  hesitated  to 
sign  any  pension  legislation  submitted  to  him  by  the  subtle 
caterers  to  continued  political  power. 

Conflicting  Views  on  Colonial  Policies. 

“I  have  scantier  patience  with  those  who  make  a  pretense 
of  humanitarianism  to  hide  and  cover  their  timidity,  and 
who  cant  about  ‘liberty’  and  the  ‘consent  of  the  governed’  in 
order  to  excuse  themselves  for  their  unwillingness  to  play 
the  part  of  men.  *  *  *  Their  doctrines  condemn  your 
forefathers  and  mine  for  ever  having  settled  in  these  United 
States.  England’s  rule  in  India  and  Egypt  has  been  of  great 
benefit  to  England,  for  it  has  trained  up  generations  of  men 
accustomed  to  look  at  the  larger  and  loftier  side  of  public 
life.  It  has  been  of  greater  benefit  to  India  and  Egypt  and 
finally,  and  most  of  all,  it  has  advanced  the  cause  of  civiliza¬ 
tion.  So  if  we  do  our  duty  aright  in  the  Philippines,  we  will 
add  to  that  national  renown  which  is  the  highest  and  finest 
part  of  national  life,  will  greatly  benefit  the  people  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  and  above  all,  we  will  play  our  part  well 
in  the  great  work  of  uplifting  mankind.  But  to  dp  this 
work,  keep  ever  in  mind  that  we  must  show  in  a  very  high 
degree  the  qualities  of  courage,  of  honesty  and  of  good 
judgment.  Resistance  must  be  stamped  out.  The  first  and 
all-important  work  to  be  done  is  to  establish  the  supremacy 
of  the  flag.  We  must  put  down  armed  resistance  before  we 
can  accomplish  anything  else  and  there  must  be  no  parleying 
and  no  faltering  in  dealing  with  our  foe.  As  for  those  in 


Shattering  American  Ideals 


59 


our  own  country  who  encourage  the  foe,  we  can  afford  con¬ 
temptuously  to  disregard  them ;  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  their  utterances  are  not  saved  from  being  treasonable 
merely  by  the  fact  that  they  are  despicable/’ — Roosevelt’s 
'■Strenuous  Life,”  pages.  18  and  19 .  “It  is  the  great  expand¬ 
ing  peoples  which  bequeath  to  future  ages  the  great  mem¬ 
ories  and  material  results  of  their  achievements,  and  the 
nations  which  shall  have  sprung  from  their  loins,  England 
standing  as  the  archetype  and  best  exemplar  of  all  such 
mighty  nations.” — The  same,  page  37.  “This  country  (the 
United  States)  will  keep  the  islands  and  will  establish  a 
stable  and  orderly  government,  so  that  one  more  fair  spot 
of  the  World’s  surface  shall  have  been  snatched  from  the 
forces  of  darkness.”— The  same,  page  35. 

“The  English  rule  in  India,  while  it  may  last:  for  decades 
or  even  centuries,  must  eventually  come  to  an  end  and  leave 
little  trace  of  its  existence.” — -Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,” 
page  261. 

“Of  course,  no  one  would  wish  to  see  these  or  any  other 
settled  communities  now  added  to  our  domain  by  force.  We 
want  no  unwilling  citizens  to  enter  our  Union;  the  time  to 
have  taken  the  lands  was  before  the  settlers  came  into  them. 
European  nations  war  for  the  possession  of  thickly  settled 
districts,  which,  if  conquered,  will  for  centuries  remain  alien 
and  hostile  to  the  conquerors:  we  wiser  in  our  generation 
have  siezed  the  waste  solitudes  that  lay  near  us.” — Roose¬ 
velt’s  “Life  of  Benton.”  pages  266  and  267. 

“The  population  of  the  Philippines  includes  half-caste  and 
native  Christians,  warlike  Moslems  and  wild  pagans.  Many 
of  their  people  are  utterly  unfit  for  self-government  and 
show  no  sign  of  becoming  fit.  *  *  *  We  must  put  down 
armed  resistance  before  we  can  accomplish  anything  else 
and  there  should  be  no  faltering,  no  parleying  in  dealing 
with  our  foe.” — Roosevelt’s  “Strenuous  Life,”  page  19. 

“The  colonial  habit  of  thought  dies  hard.  It  is  to  be 
wished  that  those  who  are  cursed  with  it  would,  in  endeavor- 


Roosevelt,  Historian 


i$o 

mg  to  emulate  the  ways  of  the  old  world,  endeavor- to  emu¬ 
late  one  characteristic  which  has  been  'shared  by  every  old 
world  nation,  and  which  is  possessed  to  a  marked  degree  by 
England.  *  *  *  Let  our  own  people  of  the  partially  col¬ 
onial  type  copy  this  peculiarity  and  it  will  be  much  to  their 
own  credit.’’ — Roosevelt  in  an  article  on  the  ‘‘Monroe  Doc¬ 
trine,”  published  in  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  Magazine,  March, 
1896. 

“Just  at  this  moment  the  army  of  the  United  States,  led 
by  men  who  served  among  you  in  the  great  war  is  carrying 
to  completion  a  small  but  peculiarly  trying  and  difficult  war 
in  which  is  involved  not  only  the  honor  of  the  flag,  but  the 
triumph  of  civilization  over  forces  which  stand  for  the  black 
chaos  of  savagery  and  barbarism.  The  task  has  not  been  as 
important  as  yours,  but  the  men  in  the  uniform  of  the  United 
States  who  have  for  the  last  three  years  championed  the 
American  cause  in  the  Philippine  Islands  are  your  younger 
brothers,  your  sons.  They  have  shown  themselves  not  un¬ 
worthy  of  you,  and  they  are  entitled  to  the  support  of  all 
men  who  are  proud  of  what  you  did.  *  *  *  The  Pacific 
seaboard  is  as  much  to  us  as  the  Atlantic ;  as  'we  grow  in 
power  and  property  so  our  interests  will  grow  in  that  farthest 
West  which  is  the  immemorial  East.  The  shadow  of  our 
destiny  has  already  reached  the  shores  of  Asia.  The  might 
of  our  people  looms  large  against  the  world  horizon  and  it 
will  loom  ever  larger  as  the  years  go  by.” — Extracts  from 
President  Roosevelt’s  Memorial  Day  Address  at  Arlington, 
1902. 

“Benton's  views  and  habits  of  thought  became  more 
markedly  Western  and  ultra- American  than  ever,  especially 
in  regard  to  our  encroachment  on  the  territory  of  neighbor¬ 
ing  powers.  The  general  feeling  in  the  West  upon  this  last 
subject  afterwards  crystallized  into  what  became  known  as 
the  ‘Manifest  Destiny’  idea,  which,  reduced  to  its  simplest 
terms,  was :  that  it  was  our  manifest  destiny  to  swallow  up 
the  lands  of  all  adjoining  nations  who  were  too  weak  to 


Shattering  American  Ideals 


6t 

withstand  us;  a  theory  that  forthwith  obtained  immense 
popularity  among  all  statesmen  of  easy  international  moral¬ 
ity.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,”  page  40. 

Colonization  Not  a  Success  in  the  Tropics, 

“Under  the  best  circumstances,  therefore,  a  colony  is  in  a 
false  position.  But  if  the  colony  is  in  a  region  where  the 
colonizing  race  has  to  do  its  work  by  means  of  other  in¬ 
ferior  races  the  condition  is  much  worse.  From  the  stand¬ 
point  of  the  race  little  or  nothing  lias  been  gained  by  die 
English  conquest  of  colonization  of  Jamaica.  Jamaica  lias 
merely  been  turned  into  a  negro  island  with  a  future,  seem¬ 
ingly,  much  like  that  of  San  Domingo.  British  Guiana, 
however,  well  administered,  is  nothing  but  a  colony  where 
a  few  hundred  or  a  few  thousand  white  men  hold  the  supe¬ 
rior  places,  while  the  bulk  of  the  population  is  composed  of 
Indians.”— Roosevelt  on  Monroe  Doctrine,  page  231. 

“In  America,  most  of  the  West  Indies  are  becoming  negro 
islands.  *  *  *  It  is  impossible  for  the  dominant  races  of 

the  temperate  zones  to  ever  bodily  displace  the  people  of  the 
tropics.  It  is  highly  probable  that  these  people  will  cast  off 
the  yoke  of  their  European  conquerors  sooner  or  later.” — 
Roosevelt's  “American  Ideals,”  page  283. 

South  Thanked  for  Preserving  White  Supremacy. 

“The  presence  of  the  negro  in  our  Southern  States  is  a 
legacy  from  the  time  when  we  were  ruled  by  a  trans-oceanic 
aristocracy.  The  whole  civilization  of  the  future  owes  a 
debt  of  gratitude  greater  than  can  be  expressed  in  words  to 
that  democratic  policy  which  has  kept  the  temperate  zones 
of  the  new  and  the  newest  world  as  a  heritage  for  the  white 
people.” — Roosevelt’s  “American  Ideals,”  page  289. 

“At  the  time  of  my  last  visit  to  Charleston  I  had  made  and 
since  that  time  have  made  a  number  of  such  appointments 
from  several  States  in  which  there  was  a  considerable  colored 
population.”  *  *  *  “The  question  of  negro  domination 


62  Roosevelt ,  Historian  ' 

does  not  enter  into  the  matter  at  all.” — Extract  from  letter 
of  President  Roosevelt  dated  November  26,  1902,  and  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  press  November  28,  1902. 

Negro  Race  Stupidity. 

“A  perfectly  stupid  race  can  never  rise  to  a  very '  high 
plane  :  the  negro,,  for  instance,  has  been  kept  down  as  much 
by  lack  of  intellectual  development  as  by  anything  else;  but 
the  prime  factor  in  the  preservation  of  a  race  is  its  power  to 
attain  a  high  degree  of  social  efficiency.” — Roosevelt’s 
“Social  Evolution/”  page  327,  American  Ideals. 

Mulattoes  and  Mixed  Breeds  Do  Not  Prosper. 

“Mr.  Pearson  shows  clearly  that  the  men  of  bur  stock  do 

not  prosper  in  tropical  countries.  *  *  *  In  Asia  they 

may  leave  a  few  tens  of  thousands  or  possibly  hundreds  of 

thousands  of  Eurasians  to  form  an  additional  caste  in  a 
♦ 

caste-ridden  community.  In  tropical  Africa  they  may  leave 
here  and  there  a  mulatto  tribe  in  the  Griquas.  But  it  cer¬ 
tainly  has  not  yet  been  proved  that  the  European  can  live 
and  propagate  permanently  in  the  hot  regions  of  India  and 
Africa,  and  Mr.  Pearson  is  right  in  anticipating  for  the 
whites  who  have  conquered  these  tropical  and  sub-tropical 
regions  of  the  Old  World,  the  same  fate  which  befell  the 
Greek  Kingdoms  in  Bactria  and  Chersonese.” — Roosevelt's 
“American  Ideals,”  page  282. 

Negroes  Criminal  and  Vicious. 

“It  is  beyond  doubt  a  misfortune  that  in  certain  districts 
the  bulk  of  the  population  should  be  composed  of  densely 
ignorant  negroes,  often  criminal  and  vicious  in  their  in¬ 
stincts;  but  such  is  the  case." — Roosevelt's  “Life  of  Benton," 
page  1 61.  *  *  *  “Slavery  was  chiefly  responsible  for  the 

streak  of  coarse  and  brutal  barbarism  which  ran  through 
the  Southern  character." — The  same,  page  161. 


S battering  A  mcncan  Ideals 


63 

Right  to  Vote  Not  Necessarily  Given  to  Black  Men 
and  Others. 

“How  large  a  portion  of  the  population  should  be  trusted 
with  the  control  of  the  government  is  a  question  of  expe¬ 
diency  merely.  In  any  purely  native  American  community 
manhood  suffrage  works  infinitely  better  than  would  any 
other  system  of  government,  and  throughout  our  country  at 
large,  in  spite  of  the  large  number  of  ignorant  foreign-born 
or  colored  voters  it  is  probably  preferable  as  it  stands  to  any 
modification  of  it:  but  there  is  no  more  natural  right  why  a 
white  man  over  twenty-one  should  vote  than  there  is  why  a 
negro  woman  under  eighteen  should  not.  Civil  rights  and 
personal  freedom  are  not  terms  that,  necessarily  imply  the 
right  to  vote.  *  *  *  So  that,  when  any  people  reach  a 

certain  stage  of  mental  development  and  of  capacity  to  take 
care  of  its  own  concerns  it  is  far  better  that  it  should  itself 
take  the  reins.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton.”  page  243. 
“Of  course  to  give  women  their  just  rights  does  not  bv  any 
means  imply  that  they  should  necessarily  be  allowed  to  vote, 
any  more  than  the  bestowal  of  the  rights  of  citizenship  upon 
alien  and  blacks  must  of  necessity  carry  with  it  the  same 
privilege.  — The  same,  page  296. 

“We  favor  such  Congressional  action  as  shall  determine 
whether  by  special  discriminations  the  elective  franchise  in 
any  State  has  been  unconstitutionally  limited,  and,  if  such 
is  die  case,  we  demand  that  representation  in  Congress  and 
in  the  electoral  colleges  shall  be  proprotionately  reduced  as 
directed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.” — Repub¬ 
lican  platform  adopted  at  Chicago,  1904. 

Better  for  Slavery  to  Continue  in  Haiti. 

“Black  slavery  in  Haiti  was  characterized  by  worse  abuse 
than  ever  was  the  case  in  the  United  States,  yet,  looking  at 
the  condition  of  that  Republic  now,  it  may  well  be  ques¬ 
tioned  whether  it  would  not  have  been  greatly  to  her  benefit 


64 


Roosevelt ,  Historian 


in  the  end  to  have  slavery  continue  a  century  or  so  longer— 
its  ultimate  extinction  being  certain — rather  than  to  have 
had  her  obtain  freedom  as  she  actually  did  with  the  results 
that  have  flowed  from  her  action.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of 
B|titon,”  page  158. 

Abolitionists  Not  Entitled  to  Praise. 

“The  cause  of  the  Abolitionists  has  had  such  a  halo  shed 
round  it  by  the  after  course  of  events,  which  they  themselves 
did  very  little  to  shape,  that  it  has  been  usual  to  speak  of 
them  with  absurdly  exaggerated  praise.”  *  *  *  “Their 
share  in  abolishing  slavery  was  far  less  than  was  commonly 
represented.” — Roosevelt’s  “Life  of  Benton,”  page  158. 
“During  all  the  terrible  four  years  that  sad,  strong,  patient 
Lincoln  worked  and  suffered  for  the  people,  he  had  to  dread 
the  influence  of  the  extreme  Abolitionist  only  less  than  that 
of  the  Copperheads.  Many  of  their  leaders  possessed  no 
good  qualities  beyond  theii  fearlessness  and  truth — qualities 
that  were  also  possessed  by  Southern  fire-eaters.” — The 
same,  pages  159  and  160. 


